Investigating Pertussis Cases in Children and Their Contacts
Author Information
Author(s): Baptista Paulo N, Magalhães Vera S, Rodrigues Laura C
Primary Institution: Pediatric Infectious Diseases Service, School Hospital, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
Hypothesis
Can identifying children with pertussis help in finding other cases among their contacts?
Conclusion
Early recognition of pertussis index cases and searching for cases among contacts is crucial for controlling outbreaks.
Supporting Evidence
- Pertussis was confirmed in 51 children, with 72.5% under 6 months of age.
- Culture for Bordetella pertussis was positive in 78.4% of index cases.
- Each index case identified two new cases of pertussis among contacts.
Takeaway
If a child has whooping cough, it can help find other people who might also be sick. This is important to stop the spread of the disease.
Methodology
Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from contacts of confirmed pertussis cases, and cases were confirmed based on clinical symptoms and culture results.
Potential Biases
Potential misclassification of cases due to reliance on household outbreak criteria.
Limitations
The study relied solely on culture for diagnosis, which may miss some cases.
Participant Demographics
All index cases were children under 11.5 years of age, with a significant proportion being infants under 6 months.
Statistical Information
P-Value
<0.01
Confidence Interval
95%
Statistical Significance
p<0.01
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website