Seroimmunity to Pertussis among Egyptian Children and Adolescents

Abstract

his is a pilot cross-sectional study conducted on a stratified non-random sample. It included 250 children and adolescents who were enrolled from the Greater Cairo region according to their ages into 3 groups: 90 preschool aged children, 80 school aged children, and 80 adolescents. All groups were subjected to clinical evaluation by history taking and physical examination to exclude any acute/chronic illness. WHO growth charts for children and adolescents were used to confirm normal growth and the Jeffrey Modell Foundation 10 warning signs of primary immunodeficiency were employed to exclude any possible failure of seroimmunity. Serum pertussis specific IgG was estimated by the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Positive serum pertussis IgG denoting protective seroimmunity in 82% of preschool children, 77.5% of school age children, and 75% of adolescents. Pertussis seroimmunity did not vary according to age or duration since the last dose of pertussis vaccination. Also, no difference in the pertussis sero-immunity rates or antibody titre was observed between males and females in the studied groups. The studied subjects living in urban areas had significantly higher frequency of pertussis seroimmunity as compared to their peers living in rural areas, and school aged children living in urban areas had significantly higher serum pertussis IgG titer as compared to adolescents.