title: Pertussis in Latin America: epidemiology and control strategies.
abstract: Pertussis is a serious respiratory disease in infants that can also affect children and adults. Vaccination against pertussis was introduced in the 1950s and in the 1990s a resurgence of pertussis was observed worldwide. The aim of this work is to summarize the recent data concerning pertussis disease in different countries of Latin America. In this geographic region, pertussis is nationally notifiable and cases should be reported to the appropriate health department/Ministry. Though the surveillance systems are not the same among Latin America countries, over recent decades an increasing number of cases have been detected. Most of these cases correspond to patients younger than 6 months old who received fewer than three doses of vaccine. However, cases in adolescent and adults have also been detected. For this situation, which is not peculiar to Latin America countries, several explanations have been proposed.
authors.affiliation: Marilia Medical School (FAMEMA) and Medical School of the Metropolitan University of Santos (UNIMES), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiza Helena
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Falleiros Arlant
authors.forename: Agustín
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Colsa
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brea
authors.forename: Maria L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Avila Aguero
authors.forename: Daniela Flavia
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Hozbor
mesh_terms: D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D032521:Immunity, Herd; D007117:Immunization, Secondary / Q000379:methods; D015994:Incidence; D007843:Latin America / Q000453:epidemiology; D010567:Pertussis Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D010567:Pertussis Vaccine
keywords: Bordetella pertussis; Latin America; epidemiology; vaccination; whooping cough