COMPARATIVE DYNAMICS OF PERTUSSIS AND THE IMPACT OF CONTROL

Abstract

Pertussis is an infectious disease with incidence resurging over the past two decades despite high levels of vaccine coverage. Incidence in adolescents and adults noticeably increased, which raises questions about pertussis transmission dynamics. Resurging incidence in adolescents and adults has been prevalent in developing countries and developed countries across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, which is why pertussis is a global health problem. Pertussis still is a major killer in developing countries. This literature review will primarily synthesize sources in order to critically examine and evaluate the problems with understanding pertussis dynamics, the focus on pertussis in developed countries, where resurgence is best documented, and hypotheses that propose why pertussis incidence resurged. It includes an introduction, which will provide background on the bacteria, symptoms, and clinical stages. It includes a methods section to describe the process of reviewing the literature and, additionally, to describe the summer research that led up to this literature review. This synthesis of the literature can serve as a blueprint that could be a useful resource for future research on pertussis dynamics and transmission.