title: Pertussis antitoxin decay after vaccination with DTPa. Response to a first booster dose 3 1/2-6 1/2 years after the third vaccine dose.
abstract: Longitudinal serum samples were collected from 542 children that had participated in a Swedish pertussis vaccine trial 1992-1995 [Gustafsson L, Hallander HO, Olin P, Reizenstein E, Storsaeter J. A controlled trial of a two-component acellular, a five-component acellular, and a whole-cell pertussis vaccine. N Engl J Med 1996;334(6):349-355] and who did not contract pertussis. The sera were analyzed for post vaccination antibody decay and for booster response of anti-PT (IgG antibodies against pertussis toxin), as measured by ELISA. Generally, an initial rapid decay of antitoxin antibody concentration was followed by a slower decay; the change occurring when the geometric mean level of antitoxin concentration reached 8-9 ELISA Units/mL (EU/mL). The time needed to reach this level was 8-9 months after the third dose in a 2, 4, and 6 months schedule. A "best-fit" combined regression model was used to predict when 50% of the children have less than the minimum level of detection of anti-PT (1EU/mL). This occurred about 65 months after dose 3 at an age of 6 years. The anti-PT response to a booster dose was evident but the post-booster geometric mean values decreased with number of years after the third dose and the response appeared later. The results indicate that a pre-school booster might be considered at 6 years of age or earlier.
authors.affiliation: Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Smittskyddsinstitutet (SMI), Department of Immunology and Vaccine Research, S-171 82 Solna, Sweden. hans.hallander@smi.ke.se
authors.forename: Hans O
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Hallander
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: Margaretha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ljungman
authors.forename: Jann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Storsaeter
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D000992:Antitoxins / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015721:Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccine / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D013548:Sweden; D022282:Vaccines, Acellular / Q000276:immunology; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000992:Antitoxins; D015721:Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccine; D022282:Vaccines, Acellular