Strategy for pertussis prevention in the World Health Organization's European Region.

Abstract

An overview of pertussis and pertussis prevention strategies is presented, with emphasis on the European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) and regional operational targets. By the year 2000, if children receive three primary doses of pertussis vaccine as infants and reinforcing doses at the end of the second year of life, coverage should be > or = 90%. No district in any country should have < 90% coverage by the year 1997. The need for additional boosters should be assessed by individual national programs. By the year 2000, the annual incidence of pertussis cases in each country in the WHO European Region should be < 1/100,000 population. Since acellular pertussis vaccines are not yet widely available or not affordable, the use of diphtheria-tetanus toxoid-pertussis vaccines containing the whole-cell pertussis component should be continued. Where acellular vaccines are available and affordable, their use should be encouraged.