Calgary researchers are looking into whether or not pregnant mothers who receive the pertussis vaccine will pass on enough antibodies to their babies to provide protection for the first few months of life.
Pertussis or whooping cough is a respiratory infection which can be fatal for newborns until they develop at least partial immunity following immunization at the two-month mark.
“There are roughly one to three deaths in Canada each year due to pertussis and all of them have been in children too young to have begun their immunization,” said Dr. Otto Vanderkooi, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and researcher with the University of Calgary and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. “If the research shows that pregnant mothers who receive the pertussis vaccine pass on enough antibodies to their babies to provide protection, then it could be an effective strategy to eliminate or lessen the severity of the illness in the youngest and most vulnerable age group.”
Whooping cough starts out as a mild cold but it can progress quickly to a severe cough and can take months to recover from.
There were 333 cases of pertussis in Alberta in 2012 and since 2011, two infants too young to have been immunized have died.
Pertussis immunization is part of the DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, acellular Pertussis) vaccine and is recommended at two, four, six and 18 months; again at four to six years; and again in Grade 9.
Researchers are looking for study participants whose pregnancy is considered low-risk.
Participants will randomly receive either the pertussis vaccine or a standard tetanus-diphtheria booster.
Samples of cord blood, the infant’s blood, the mother’s blood and breast milk will be collected and researchers will stay in touch during scheduled study visits and by phone until the baby is 18 months old.
Expectant moms interested in participating in the Calgary arm of the study are asked to phone the research co-coordinator at 403-955-2981.
