Panel recommends adult pertussis vaccine

An increase in the number of teens and adults with whooping cough poses risks to unprotected infants.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Nov. 28, 2005.

Washington -- Most adults who need a tetanus and diphtheria booster should now be given a single dose of a newly approved vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis, or Tdap, instead, according to Oct. 26 recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The new vaccine, which was approved for use in adults last June, adds protection from pertussis to the traditional tetanus-diphtheria, or Td, booster.

The vaccine should not be administered within two years of the time a Td shot was given, the committee said.

Adults who are in close contact with infants younger than 1 year and women who have just given birth or are of childbearing age are also being urged to receive the Tdap vaccine if two years have passed since their last Td booster. Recommendations for health care workers, pregnant women and adults older than 65 are still being developed.

The new recommendations are intended to reduce the rising incidence of pertussis in the United States.

The CDC received reports of about 26,000 cases of pertussis in 2004, but the actual number is probably closer to 600,000 cases a year, said Katrina Kretsinger, MD, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC.