Clinical and serologic responses to acellular pertussis vaccine in infants and young children
E. L. Anderson, R. B. Belshe, J. Bartram, M. Gurwith, P. Hung, M. Levner and S. K. Vernon
We administered diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine containing
acellular (lymphocytosis promoting factor and filamentous hemagglutinin)
pertussis vaccine to three groups of 20 children each (4 to 6 years, 17 to
21 months, and 5 to 9 months of age). All the children tolerated the
vaccine well; no reactions occurred that contraindicated further
immunization. Older children had significantly more local (redness or
swelling) and systemic (fever or fretfulness) reactions than younger
children. Eighty percent to 90% of the children in the two older age groups
had fourfold or greater increases in antibody titers to DTP antigens one
month after vaccination. The postvaccine concentrations of antibody to
tetanus and diphtheria were greater than 0.01 IU/mL in all children.
Serologic responses to lymphocytosis promoting factor and filamentous
hemagglutinin varied with age; significantly more older children than
younger children had four-fold or greater increases. Acellular pertussis
DTP vaccine was antigenic in young children and was less reactogenic than
standard whole cell DTP vaccine according to rates reported in previous
studies.
