title: Incidence of pertussis in patients of general practitioners in Poland.
abstract: We estimated the incidence of pertussis in patients consulting general practitioners (GPs). Between July 2009 and April 2011, we conducted a prospective cohort study of patients attending 78 general practices (158 863 persons overall). We included patients aged ≥ 3 years, with cough lasting 2-15 weeks, who gave informed consent. GPs interviewed eligible patients, collected a blood specimen, and a nasopharyngeal swab. At follow-up 30-60 days after the initial visit, physicians collected a second blood specimen and conducted patient interview. Cases were confirmed by specific IgA and/or IgG antibody titre exceeding significantly the general population background level or detection of bacterial DNA by real-time PCR. During the study period, 3864 patients with prolonged cough consulted the participating GPs, of those 1852 met the inclusion criteria, 1232 were recruited, and 288 were confirmed as pertussis cases (4% by PCR, 96% by serology). The adjusted incidence rate was 201.1/100 000 person-years [95% confidence interval (CI) 133.9-302.0], ranging from 456.5 (95% CI 239.3-870.8) in the 15-19 years group to 94.0 (95% CI 33.4-264.5) in the 25-29 years group. The reporting ratio was 61, ranging from 4 in those aged 3-5 years, to 167 in those aged 65-69 years. The study confirmed high incidence of pertussis in all age groups in the general population, in particular in adults, not appropriately documented by the existing surveillance system.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stefanoff
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Paradowska-Stankiewicz
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lipke
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karasek
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rastawicki
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zasada
authors.affiliation: State University of New York at Albany School of Public Health, Rensselaer, NY, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Samuels
authors.affiliation: Provincial Children's Hospital in Krakow, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Czajka
authors.affiliation: Respiratory Diseases Department, Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control, Public Health England, Colindale, UK.
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Pebody
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial