COMPARATIVE SAFETY AND IMMUNOGENICITY OF AN ACELLULAR VERSUS WHOLE-CELL PERTUSSIS COMPONENT OF DIPHTHERIA-TETANUS-PERTUSSIS VACCINES IN SENEGALESE INFANTS

A diphtheria and tetanus toroid two-component acellular pertussis vacc ine (DTaP), consisting of 25 mu g glutaraldehyde-detoxified pertussis toxin (PT) and 25 mu g native filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), was com pared with diphtheria and tetanus toroid whole-cell pertussis vaccine (DTwP) in a randomized, double-blind manner in 286 Senegalese infants inoculated at two, four, and six months of age, In infants receiving D TaP a significantly lower rate of local reactions, crying and fever wa s observed than in infants receiving DTwP. One month after the third d ose, the geometric mean titres for FHA antibodies were higher in the D TaP group, whereas increases in PT antibody titres were higher in the DTwP group, More than 90% of the infants had a fourfold or more increa se in antibodies to both PT and FHA with either vaccine, Diphtheria, t etanus, and polio antibody responses were also measured and found to b e comparable between the two groups, The results of this pilot study s upport the implementation of a field trial to compare the protective e fficacy of these vaccines against pertussis in the same setting.