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An outbreak of pertussis among young Israeli soldiers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2003

E. KLEMENT
Affiliation:
Center for Vaccine Development and Evaluation, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force. M.P. 02149, Israel
L. ULIEL
Affiliation:
Center for Vaccine Development and Evaluation, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force. M.P. 02149, Israel
I. ENGEL
Affiliation:
Center for Vaccine Development and Evaluation, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force. M.P. 02149, Israel
T. HASIN
Affiliation:
Center for Vaccine Development and Evaluation, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force. M.P. 02149, Israel
M. YAVZORI
Affiliation:
Center for Vaccine Development and Evaluation, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force. M.P. 02149, Israel
N. ORR
Affiliation:
Center for Vaccine Development and Evaluation, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force. M.P. 02149, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
N. DAVIDOVITZ
Affiliation:
Center for Vaccine Development and Evaluation, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force. M.P. 02149, Israel
N. LAHAT
Affiliation:
Serology Laboratory, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
I. SRUGO
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Bnai Zion Hospital, Haifa, Israel Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
E. ZANGVIL
Affiliation:
Center for Vaccine Development and Evaluation, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force. M.P. 02149, Israel
D. COHEN
Affiliation:
Center for Vaccine Development and Evaluation, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force. M.P. 02149, Israel Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
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Abstract

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In winter 2001, an outbreak of pertussis involving an estimated 75 people occurred among soldiers serving in an infantry regiment of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained from patients and contacts for culture and PCR. Serum samples were obtained and assayed by ELISA for the presence of IgA, IgM and IgG antibodies to a lysate antigen of Bordetella pertussis. The calculated attack rate was 21% based on clinical signs alone (cough lasting 30 days or longer) and 9·5% based on clinical signs with laboratory confirmation (by PCR, IgA or IgM). A high carriage rate was observed; 20% of the asymptomatic and previously symptomatic subjects were PCR-positive for B. pertussis. These findings emphasize the importance of B. pertussis as a causative agent of epidemic respiratory infections in young adults and reveal the occurrence of a significant proportion of pertussis transient carriers during an outbreak of the disease.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2003 Cambridge University Press