Seroprevalence of pertussis antibodies and infection risk among female medical students

Abstract

Pertussis seroprotection among neonates depends on maternal antibodies before receiving their first childhood acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccination. Therefore, childbearing women need to have adequate seroprotection, either before conception or during the antenatal period, to protect their neonates from contracting neonatal pertussis. Given the global rise in neonatal pertussis incidence, there is a need to address the importance of protection against this infection by promoting booster vaccinations among female medical students as a preventive measure for their future generation. This paper addresses a part of our study on the seroprevalence of anti-PT IgG antibodies in female medical students who are more prone to acquire infections from the patients during their clinical rotations. A cross-sectional study was conducted for three months by recruiting female medical students of RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. The antibody levels (IgG) of pertussis (anti-PT) in blood sera of the study population were quantitated by enzyme-linked immunoassay. A 60 – 125 IU/mL titer was considered the positive titer level (p-value <0.05 being statistically significant). Among 90 ethnically different student participants (mean age of 21 years), forty-four percent (n=40) showed detectable titers of anti-PT IgG antibodies. Whereas fourteen percent of participants (n=13) had high positive titers above 125U/mL, four percent (n=3) showed positive titers ranging from 60-125IU/mL. Two percent (n=2) were in borderline with 55 - <60IU/mL and twenty three percent (n=21) were < 55IU/mL titres. The mean ± SD of IgG titers was 42 ± 74.93 IU/mL with a range of 0-267 IU/mL Only forty-four percent had detectable titers of anti-PT IgG antibodies, among whom fourteen percent (n=13) had high positive titers indicating recent infection. The results signify a low level of seroprotection among female medical students that emphasizes the need to promote booster vaccination for the high-risk group who work in the health profession.