Abstract
Recent reports in the British medical literature have suggested that pertussis vaccine is relatively ineffective and that the possible adverse effects of the vaccine outweigh the expected benefits of mass vaccination programs [1]. Publicity concerning this issue has led to a decline in the levels of immunization with diptheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine in Britain and an increase in the incidence of pertussis [2]. In January 1979, the Conference of State and Territorial Epidemiologists of the United States approved the initiation of a detailed nationwide surveillance system for pertussis in an attempt to gather recent data regarding the morbidity of the disease and the efficacy of vaccination in this country. Previously, only the number of cases and the location and age of patients had been reported on a national level. We report here the results of the first year of this increased surveillance, including information on morbidity of the disease and availability of laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis.
Published Version
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