Recombinant Pertussis Booster Offers Lasting Immunity

TOPLINE:

A booster dose of recombinant pertussis vaccines provides sustained immunity in adolescents and young adults even after 5 years, with pertussis toxin (PT)–neutralizing antibody levels remaining 2.5- to 3-fold higher than prevaccination levels. 

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers assessed antibody persistence 5 years after booster vaccination with either a recombinant or chemically detoxified pertussis vaccine. They followed 159 participants (mean age, 19.6 years; 56% women) who received the booster between the ages of 12 and 17 years during a phase 2/3 clinical trial in Thailand.
• Among the participants, 55 received the recombinant pertussis-only vaccine, 52 received the recombinant tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis vaccine, and 52 received the chemically inactivated tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis booster vaccine.
• The participants were required to have received three doses of whole-cell pertussis vaccine at infancy.
• Blood samples were collected, and PT immunoglobulin G (PT-IgG) and filamentous hemagglutinin IgG concentrations were measured in all participants, while PT-neutralizing antibody titers were measured in a subset of 55 participants.
• The antibody concentrations were analyzed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Chinese hamster ovary assays.

TAKEAWAY:

• Recombinant pertussis vaccines provided superior antibody persistence, with PT-neutralizing antibody levels remaining 2.5- to 3-fold higher than those before vaccination even after 5 years.
• Long-term seroprotection with PT-IgG antibodies was achieved in a higher proportion of participants receiving the recombinant pertussis-only (75%) and recombinant tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (56%) vaccines than in those receiving the chemically detoxified vaccine (27%; P

IN PRACTICE:

“The 5-year persistence of neutralizing anti-PT antibodies at levels more than fourfold greater than the seropositivity cutoff of 5 IU/mL supports the capacity of recombinant pertussis vaccines to boost long-lasting protection,” the authors wrote. “Our findings suggest that PT_gen [genetically detoxified PT]-containing vaccines can also offer longer-lasting protection in adolescents, supporting their use as booster vaccines in adolescents and adults to enhance population immunity,” they added.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Punnee Pitisuttithum, MD, Vaccine Trial Centre, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. It was published online on December 5, 2024, in JAMA Network Open.

LIMITATIONS:

No limitations were reported in the study.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was funded by BioNet-Asia. Some authors reported being employed by or receiving grants from sources, including the funding agency.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.