title: Seroprevalence of pertussis antibodies in 6-17-year-old students in Ahvaz, south-west Islamic Republic of Iran.
abstract: Although pertussis is a vaccine-preventable infection, vaccine-induced immunity is not lifelong and booster doses are recommended according to national disease epidemiology. The aim of this study was to evaluate pertussis-IgG levels in school-aged students in Ahvaz, south-west Islamic Republic of Iran. In a descriptive, cross-sectional study, blood samples were obtained from 640 students (382 boys and 258 girls) aged 6-17 years during 2010-2011. All students had received a full course of pertussis whole-cell vaccination at ages 2, 4, 6 and 18 months and 4-6 years. Using a Bordetella IgG ELISA kit, pertussis-IgG was detected in 301 (47.0%) students. No statistically significant differences in pertussis-IgG levels were found between girls and boys or across different age groups. The findings show that the overall level of pertussis-IgG seropositivity was unacceptable. Booster vaccination with an acellular pertussis vaccine should be considered in adolescents and/or adults in our region.
authors.affiliation: Health Research Institute, Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Centre, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Islamic Republic of Iran; Aboozar Children's Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shamsizadeh
authors.affiliation: Health Research Institute, Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Centre, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nikfar
authors.affiliation: Aboozar Children's Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yusefi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Abbasi-Montazeri
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cheraghian
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001886:Bordetella pertussis / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007117:Immunization, Secondary / Q000592:standards*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010567:Pertussis Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D010567:Pertussis Vaccine