title: Pertussis is rare in human immunodeficiency virus disease.
abstract: Many adults are susceptible to pertussis, and Bordetella pertussis has been isolated from five patients with HIV disease. The prevalence of B. pertussis in 60 HIV-infected adults with nasopharyngeal (NP) swab cultures were studied and questionnaires were used that assessed HIV-related risk behaviors and disease status, immunization history, and symptoms of respiratory disease. Although 72% had cough and 33% had cough for > 14 days, no nasopharyngeal (NP) swab cultures were positive for Bordetella species. Of the 44 (73%) patients who had follow-up NP swab cultures at 6 months, all were still negative. On the basis of these data from our HIV-infected population, the estimated population prevalence of pertussis is zero, with an upper 95% confidence limit of 0.00065, or fewer than 6.5 cases of pertussis per 10,000 HIV-infected adults. Given this low prevalence, HIV-infected patients with respiratory symptoms do not appear to be a reservoir for B. pertussis in the community.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, University of Rochester Medical Center, NY 14642.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Knorr
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Gilligan
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Smiley
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D000328:Adult; D001886:Bordetella pertussis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology