Pertussis in the central-west region of Brazil: one decade study

• Autor(a) principal: Druzian,Angelita Fernandes
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Brustoloni,Yvone Maia, Oliveira,Sandra Maria do Valle Leone, Matos,Vanessa Terezinha Gubert de, Negri,Adriana Carla Garcia, Pinto,Clarice Souza, Asato,Silvia, Urias,Cirlene dos Santos Gonçalves, Paniago,Anamaria Mello Miranda
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-86702014000200177
• topic: Whooping cough; Pertussis; Epidemiology; Bordetella pertussis; Outbreak investigation

In many parts of the world, numerous outbreaks of pertussis have been described despite high vaccination coverage. In this article we report the epidemiological characteristics of pertussis in Brazil using a Surveillance Worksheet. Secondary data of pertussis case investigations reported from January 1999 to December 2008 recorded in the Information System for Notifiable Diseases (SINAN) and the Central Laboratory for Public Health (LACEN-MS) were utilized. The total of 561 suspected cases were reported and 238 (42.4%) of these were confirmed, mainly in children under six months (61.8%) and with incomplete immunization (56.3%). Two outbreaks were detected. Mortality rate ranged from 2.56% to 11.11%. The occurrence of outbreaks and the poor performance of cultures for confirming diagnosis are problems which need to be addressed. High vaccination coverage is certainly a good strategy to reduce the number of cases and to reduce the impact of the disease in children younger than six months.