Acellular pertussis vaccine for adolescents.

Background: The use of whole-cell pertussis vaccine has led to a significant decline in incidence of the disease among children. This change in the epidemiological profile led to an increased number of cases among teenagers and adults, as a result of loss of immunity to the disease or vaccine after approximately 10 years. An increased number of cases was also observed among non-immunized or partially immunized infants.