Unveiling the burden of pertussis

Increasing incidence has led to pertussis re-emerging as a public health problem in developed countries over the past decade. Obtaining a better understanding of the epidemiological factors underlying the transmission dynamics of Bordetella pertussis in highly vaccinated populations is key to explaining this increasing incidence. This has prompted attempts to improve age-stratified estimates of pertussis disease and infection incidence and has led to the development of a new generation of epidemiological models that take into account waning of immunity. Combining these approaches offers the potential to unravel the causes of the resurgence and to predict the impact of novel vaccination strategies