Responses to an acellular pertussis booster vaccination in children, adolescents, and young and older adults: A collaborative study in Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom
Pauline Versteegen,
Marta Valente Pinto,
Alex M. Barkoff,
Pieter G.M. van Gageldonk,
dr. Jan van de Kassteele,
dr. Marlies A. van Houten,
prof. Elisabeth A.M. Sanders,
prof. Ronald de Groot,
dr. Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos,
dr. Sagida Bibi,
dr. Raakel Luoto,
prof. Qiushui He,
dr. Anne-Marie Buisman,
dr. Dominic F. Kelly,
prof. Jussi Mertsola,
dr. Guy A.M. Berbers
Affiliations
Pauline Versteegen
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, Bilthoven 3720 BA, Netherlands
Marta Valente Pinto
University of Oxford, Department of Paediatrics, Oxford Vaccine Group, Oxford OX3 7LE, United Kingdom
Alex M. Barkoff
University of Turku, Institute of Biomedicine, Microbiology, Virology and Immunology, and Turku University Hospital, Turku 20500, Finland
Pieter G.M. van Gageldonk
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, Bilthoven 3720 BA, Netherlands
dr. Jan van de Kassteele
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, Bilthoven 3720 BA, Netherlands
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, Bilthoven 3720 BA, Netherlands; Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, Department of Paediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Lundlaan 6, 3584 EA Utrecht, Netherlands
prof. Ronald de Groot
Radboud University Medical Centre, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nijmegen 6525 GA, Netherlands
dr. Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos
Radboud University Medical Centre, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nijmegen 6525 GA, Netherlands
dr. Sagida Bibi
University of Oxford, Department of Paediatrics, Oxford Vaccine Group, Oxford OX3 7LE, United Kingdom
dr. Raakel Luoto
University of Turku, Institute of Biomedicine, Microbiology, Virology and Immunology, and Turku University Hospital, Turku 20500, Finland
prof. Qiushui He
University of Turku, Institute of Biomedicine, Microbiology, Virology and Immunology, and Turku University Hospital, Turku 20500, Finland
dr. Anne-Marie Buisman
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, Bilthoven 3720 BA, Netherlands
dr. Dominic F. Kelly
University of Oxford, Department of Paediatrics, Oxford Vaccine Group, Oxford OX3 7LE, United Kingdom; Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom
prof. Jussi Mertsola
University of Turku, Institute of Biomedicine, Microbiology, Virology and Immunology, and Turku University Hospital, Turku 20500, Finland
dr. Guy A.M. Berbers
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, Bilthoven 3720 BA, Netherlands; Corresponding author.
Background: Pertussis can lead to serious disease and even death in infants. Older adults are more vulnerable to complications as well. In high-income countries, acellular pertussis vaccines are used for priming vaccination. In the administration of booster vaccinations to different age groups and target populations there is a substantial between-country variation. We investigated the effect of age on the response to acellular pertussis booster vaccination in three European countries. Methods: This phase IV longitudinal intervention study performed in Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom between October 2017 and January 2019 compared the vaccine responses between healthy participants of four age groups: children (7–10y), adolescents (11–15y), young adults (20–34y), and older adults (60–70y). All participants received a three-component acellular pertussis vaccine. Serum IgG and IgA antibody concentrations to pertussis antigens at day 0, 28, and 1 year were measured with a multiplex immunoassay, using pertussis toxin concentrations at day 28 as primary outcome. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrialsRegister.eu (2016–003,678–42). Findings: Children (n = 109), adolescents (n = 121), young adults (n = 74), and older adults (n = 75) showed high IgG antibody concentrations to pertussis toxin at day 28 with GMCs of 147 (95% CI 120–181), 161 (95% CI 132–196), 103 (95% CI 80–133), and 121 IU/ml (95% CI 94–155), respectively. A significant increase in GMCs for vaccine antigens in all age groups by 28 days was found which had decreased by 1 year. Differences in patterns of IgG GMCs at 28 days and 1 year post-vaccination did not have a consistent relationship to age. In contrast, IgA antibodies for all antigens increased with age at all timepoints. Interpretation: Acellular pertussis booster vaccination induces significant serum IgG responses to pertussis antigens across the age range which are not uniformly less in older adults. Acellular boosters could be considered for older adults to reduce the health and economic burden of pertussis.
