To the Editor: Pertussis (whooping cough) is a readily transmissible respiratory infection that may cause severe respiratory illness. The burden of severe pertussis affects infants, often resulting in hospitalisation (especially those aged under 6 months) and death (1 in every 200 patients aged under 6 months).1,2
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Correspondence:
- 1. Guris D, Strebel PM, Bardenheier B, et al. Changing epidemiology of pertussis in the United States: increasing reported incidence among adolescents and adults, 1990-1996. Clin Infect Dis 1999; 28: 1230-1237.
- 2. National Health and Medical Research Council. The Australian immunisation handbook. 8th ed. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 2003.
- 3. McIntyre P, Amin J, Gidding H, et al. Vaccine preventable diseases and vaccination coverage in Australia, 1993-1998. Commun Dis Intell 2000 Suppl: 24.
- 4. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The AIHW national mortality database. Canberra: Australian Government, 2004.
- 5. Communicable Diseases Surveillance Highlights. Vaccine preventable diseases. Commun Dis Intell 2000; 24: 11.
- 6. Elliot E, McIntyre P, Ridley G, et al. National study of infants hospitalized with pertussis in the acellular vaccine era. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2004; 23: 246-252.
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