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Country-Specific Data and Priorities for Pertussis in Latin America: Recent Findings From the Global Pertussis Initiative

Abstract:

In 2023, the Global Pertussis Initiative met to assess the burden of and vaccination policies against pertussis in 10 Latin American countries. Although pertussis is a notifiable disease in the represented countries, poor disease awareness, underrecognition in older individuals, and limited laboratory capacity and supplies challenge the collection of robust epidemiological data. Infants in all 10 countries receive a 3-dose primary series followed by ≥2 boosters. Except for Paraguay and Venezuela, governments of the represented countries advise or mandate vaccination in pregnancy; however, coverage rates remain suboptimal. Healthcare providers and the public should be educated on how mothers and other contacts can serve as asymptomatic carriers of Bordetella pertussis (transmitting disease to vulnerable infants) and of the potentially unique presentation of pertussis in adolescents and adults. The burden of pertussis in Latin America can be reduced by improving vaccination coverage of the primary series, increasing vaccination in pregnancy, and instituting universal vaccination of adults.