title: Seroprevalence of pertussis amongst healthcare professionals in Spain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This multi-center, hospital-based observational study determined the seroprevalence of pertussis antibodies amongst healthcare professionals from three different hospitals in Spain to ascertain the health status of professionals attending to susceptible groups who are at risk of contracting and transmitting pertussis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical professionals from three hospitals in Spain were recruited for this study (NCT01706224). Serum samples from subjects were assessed for anti-pertussis antibodies by ELISA. The percentage of subjects positive for anti-pertussis antibodies were determined by age-strata, gender, vaccination status, professional level (physicians, nurses, ancillary nurses and midwives), hospital department, number of working years, numbers of hours spent with the patient as well as number of children in the household.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 31.2% of subjects were seropositive; 3.3% of these healthcare professionals had ELISA values indicative of current or recent infection. There were no significant differences in terms of pertussis prevalence with respect to age, gender, hospital department, profession, number of working years and number of hours spent with patients. These levels of seronegativity amongst healthcare workers further strengthen the rationale for vaccination amongst this specific population against pertussis.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, C/Joaquín Rodrigo 2, Majadahonda, 28222 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: mrpinta@salud.madrig.org.
authors.forename: María Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Rodríguez de la Pinta
authors.affiliation: Complejo Hospitalario Universitario, Xubias de Arriba 84, 15006 A Coruña, Spain. Electronic address: isabel.castro.lareo@sergas.es.
authors.forename: María Isabel
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Castro Lareo
authors.affiliation: IDIBELL; Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge, Feixa Llarga s/n, Hospitalet Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jmramon@bellvitgehospital.cat.
authors.forename: Josep Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramon Torrell
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Facultad de Medicina, Av Blasco Ibañez 17, 46010 Valencia, Spain; Instituto Valenciano de Microbiología, Bétera, 46117 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: jglomas@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García de Lomas
authors.affiliation: GSK Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., CDOC-B, #5 Embassy Links, S.R.T. Road, 560052 Bangalore, India. Electronic address: raghavendra.7.devadiga@gsk.com.
authors.forename: Raghavendra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Devadiga
authors.affiliation: GSK Vaccines, C/Severo Ochoa 2, Tres Cantos, 28760 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: janet.m.reyes@gsk.com.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.affiliation: GSK Vaccines, C/Severo Ochoa 2, Tres Cantos, 28760 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: cynthia.c.mccoig@gsk.com.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McCoig
authors.affiliation: GSK Vaccines, Avenue Fleming 20, 1300 Wavre, Belgium. Electronic address: monica.x.tafalla@gsk.com.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tafalla
authors.affiliation: GSK Vaccines, C/Severo Ochoa 2, Tres Cantos, 28760 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: pilar.c.garcia-corbeira@gsk.com.
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: García-Corbeira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial
keywords: Healthcare professionals; Pertussis antibodies; Seroprevalence