New approaches in pertussis vaccines for developing countries

The currently available pertussis vaccines are highly efficacious. However, whole cell vaccines display some reactogenicity and acellular vaccines are less toxic, but elevated costs limit their use in developing countries. Instituto Butantan, Brasil, has developed a new technology to remove lipopolysaccharides from the whole cell vaccine using a simplified and not expensive methodology, which also provides monophosphoryl lipid A as by-product, to be used as adjuvant. This new whole cell pertussis vaccine with low LPS content combined with diphtheria and tetanus antigens (DTPlow), was shown to be as potent as the regular DTP vaccine and less reactogenic. As another by-product, an alternative acellular pertussis vaccine can be produced by a simple low cost procedure. A recombinant BCG-Pertussis vaccine was developed which can be given at birth as a single dose, potentially covering the neonate susceptibility before immunity conferred by pertussis vaccination schedule becomes effective.