Review Pertussis in Africa: Findings and recommendations of the Global Pertussis Initiative (GPI) Rudzani Muloiwa a , Nicole Wolter b , Ezekiel Mupere c , Tina Tan d , A.J. Chitkara e , Kevin D. Forsyth f , Carl-Heinz Wirsing von König g , Gregory Hussey h,⇑ a Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town, 7701 Cape Town, South Africa b National Institute for Communicable Diseases and University of the Witwatersrand, 2131 Johannesburg, South Africa c Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, 7072 Kampala, Uganda d Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA e Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi 110 088, India f Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, 5042 Adelaide, Australia g Labor:Medizin Krefeld MVZ GmbH, 47805 Krefeld, Germany h Department of Pathology and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, 7701 Cape Town, South Africa article info Article history: Received 11 December 2017 Received in revised form 28 February 2018 Accepted 7 March 2018 Available online xxxx Keywords: Pertussis Africa Global Pertussis Initiative Epidemiology Surveillance Recommendations abstract Pertussis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in infants and young children, and despite the availability of vaccines and pertinent national and international guidelines. The disease burden is more severe in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially in the African continent. Pertussis is more prevalent among young infants in Africa. Poor or no pertussis surveillance, lack of dis- ease awareness, diagnostic limitations, and competing health priorities are considered key contributory factors for this high pertussis burden in Africa. Most African countries use whole-cell pertussis (wP) vac- cines, but coverage with three primary doses of diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis vaccines falls short of the World Health Organization’s recommended goal of >90%. The Global Pertussis Initiative (GPI) works toward developing recommendations through systematic evaluation and prioritization of strategies to prevent pertussis-related infant and child deaths, as well as reducing global disease burden to acceptable national, regional, and local levels. For countries using wP vaccines, the GPI recommends continuing to use wP to improve primary and toddler booster vaccination coverage. Vaccination during pregnancy is the next priority when acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines and other resources are available that directly protect newborns too young to be vaccinated, followed by, in order of priority, booster doses in older chil- dren, adolescents, healthcare workers and finally, all adults. Improved surveillance should be a high pri- ority for African LMICs assessing true disease burden and vaccine effectiveness to inform policy. More research is warranted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of wP and aP vaccines and strategies, and to determine their optimal use. Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 00 2. Pertussis in Africa: disease burden ........................................................................................ 00 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.03.025 0264-410X/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abbreviations: aP, acellular pertussis vaccines; CAP, community-acquired pneumonia; CAR, Central African Republic; DTaP, diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccines; DTP2, two doses of diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis; DTP3, three doses of diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis; DTP4, a booster dose for children between 1 and 6 years old; DTwP, wP in combination with diphtheria and tetanus vaccines; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; GPI, Global Pertussis Initiative; HCW, healthcare worker; HepB, hepatitis B; Hib, Haemophilus influenzae serotype B; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; IgG, immunoglobulin G; IPV, inactivated polio vaccine; LMIC, low- and middle- income countries; LRTI, lower respiratory tract infection; NGO, non-governmental organization; NR, not reported; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; PERCH, Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health; RTI, respiratory tract infection; SAMIPS, Southern Africa Mother Infant Pertussis Study; Tdap, reduced tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis antigens; WHO, World Health Organization; wP, whole-cell pertussis vaccines. ⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Pathology and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, 7701 Cape Town, South Africa. E-mail address: gregory.hussey@uct.ac.za (G. Hussey). Vaccine xxx (2018) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Vaccine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/vaccine Please cite this article in press as: Muloiwa R et al. Pertussis in Africa: Findings and recommendations of the Global Pertussis Initiative (GPI). Vaccine (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.03.025