J Pediatr Infect Dis 2018; 13(01): 070-074
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1616859
Original Article
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Evaluation of a Cocooning Program on Infant Pertussis Infection in the Northern Territory

Kristen Overton
1   Northern Territory Centre of Disease Control, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
2   Royal Darwin Hospital, Tiwi, Northern Territory, Australia
3   University of New South Wales, Medical School, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
,
Rosalind Webby
1   Northern Territory Centre of Disease Control, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
,
Peter Markey
1   Northern Territory Centre of Disease Control, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
,
Vicki Krause
1   Northern Territory Centre of Disease Control, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

04 September 2017

28 November 2017

Publication Date:
05 January 2018 (online)

Abstract

Since 2008, the Northern Territory (NT) Guidelines recommended delivering dTpa vaccine to postnatal women and all other household and close infant contacts. We aim to determine whether this pertussis cocooning strategy reduced infections in young infants in the NT. Infants < 12 months of age notified with pertussis and born at times when the cocooning strategy was in place (2009–2014) were compared with infants born preintervention (2002–2007). The proportion of cases of pertussis occurring in infants < 12 months of age was significantly higher in the preintervention period (6.7%) compared with the cocooning period (3.3%, p = 0.0067).