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Pertussis outbreak in neonates and young infants across Italy, January to May 2024: implications for vaccination strategies
- Marco Poeta1,2,* , Cristina Moracas2,3,* , Chiara Albano4 , Laura Petrarca5 , Marco Maglione6 , Luca Pierri7 , Maurizio Carta8 , Paolo Montaldo9 , Elisabetta Venturini10 , Maia De Luca11 , Danilo Buonsenso12 , Ilaria Brambilla13 , Vania Giacomet14 , Andrea Lo Vecchio1,2 , Eugenia Bruzzese1,2 , Fabio Midulla5 , Claudia Colomba4,15 , Alfredo Guarino1,2
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View Affiliations Hide AffiliationsAffiliations: 1 Department of Translational Medical Science, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy 2 Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit, Department of Maternal and Child health, University Hospital “Federico II”, Naples, Italy 3 PhD National Program in One Health approaches to infectious diseases and life science research, Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy 4 Department of Health Promotion, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy 5 Department of Maternal, Infantile and Urological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy 6 Pediatric Emergency Department, Santobono-Pausilipon Children’s Hospital, Naples, Italy 7 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Neonatology, Emergency Department, Santobono-Pausilipon Children’s Hospital, Naples, Italy 8 Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital Policlinico “Paolo Giaccone”, Palermo, Italy 9 Department of Woman, Child, and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli,” Naples, Italy 10 Infectious Diseases Unit, Meyer Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Florence, Italy 11 Infectious Disease Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy 12 Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Clinical Pediatric Ultrasound, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy 13 Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy 14 Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit, L. Sacco Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy 15 Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, “G. Di Cristina” Hospital, ARNAS Civico Di Cristina Benfratelli, Palermo, Italy* These authors contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.Correspondence:Marco Poetamarco.poeta unina.it
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Citation style for this article: Poeta Marco, Moracas Cristina, Albano Chiara, Petrarca Laura, Maglione Marco, Pierri Luca, Carta Maurizio, Montaldo Paolo, Venturini Elisabetta, De Luca Maia, Buonsenso Danilo, Brambilla Ilaria, Giacomet Vania, Lo Vecchio Andrea, Bruzzese Eugenia, Midulla Fabio, Colomba Claudia, Guarino Alfredo. Pertussis outbreak in neonates and young infants across Italy, January to May 2024: implications for vaccination strategies. Euro Surveill. 2024;29(23):pii=2400301. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.23.2400301 Received: 19 May 2024; Accepted: 04 Jun 2024
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Abstract
Since January 2024, Italy experiences a pertussis outbreak, primarily affecting neonates and unvaccinated infants at high risk of severe complications and mortality; 11 major paediatric centres noted 108 hospitalisations and three deaths by 10 May. The outbreak reflects increased circulation of Bordetella pertussis and non-adherence to immunisation recommendations during pregnancy. Public health interventions, including maternal immunisation, vaccination of infants as early as possible and post-exposure prophylaxis, are critical for reducing the burden of pertussis and preventing further mortality.
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References
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