Attachments
In light of the sustained decline in pertussis vaccination coverage, mainly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the context of the current global resurgence of pertussis cases—with significant increases in several countries in the Americas Region—the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) urges Member States to strengthen their epidemiological surveillance systems and maintain monitoring continuous, detailed, and disaggregated vaccination coverage among children, with special attention to children under 1 year of age and under 5 years of age. It is a priority to identify in a timely manner population groups that do not receive pertussis vaccines with the recommended doses, in particular unvaccinated infants or infants with incomplete schedules, in order to implement corrective actions to close immunization gaps and prevent outbreaks (1-4).
Summary of the situation
During the decade between 2010 and 2019, worldwide, an average of 170,000 cases of pertussis (whooping cough) were reported annually. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant decline was observed, with an average of 80,227 cases per year between 2020 and 2023, representing a reduction of approximately two times compared to the previous period. The year 2021 marked the recent historical low, with only 29,623 cases reported worldwide, and then increased in 2022 and 2023 with 63,024 and 158,910 cases respectively (Figure 1) (2).
In the Americas Region, 2012 saw the highest number of cases in the decade, with 72,328 reported cases of pertussis. Since 2013, there has been a progressive decrease in the number of cases reported annually in the Region until 2022, when it reached its lowest point with 3,283 cases, and then in 2023 it increased to 4,139 cases (Figure 1) (2). Currently, the Americas Region has 43,751 cases as a provisional total for the 2024 year (subject to change when all countries report their totals in June 2024) (3).