Comparative study of a whole-cell pertussis vaccine and a recombinant acellular pertussis vaccine. The Italian Multicenter Group for the Study of Recombinant Acellular Pertussis Vaccine

The safety and immunogenicity of an acellular pertussis vaccine containing the genetically detoxified pertussis toxin PT-9K/129G, filamentous hemagglutinin, and pertactin, together with diphtheria and tetanus toxoids, were compared with those of a whole-cell pertussis component-diphtheria-tetanus vaccine. Four hundred eighty infants were enrolled into this prospective, multicenter, double-blind study. Each infant was randomly given three doses of one of the two vaccines at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. Both local and systemic adverse reactions, reported within 48 hours and 7 days of each injection, were less frequent after the acellular vaccine than after the whole-cell vaccine. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay titers to pertussis toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin, and pertactin, as well as the pertussis toxin-neutralizing titer measured by the Chinese hamster ovary cell assay, were significantly higher after the acellular vaccine was given. Both vaccines induced adequate levels of anti-diphtheria and anti-tetanus antibodies. We conclude that the recombinant acellular pertussis vaccine produces fewer reactions than the whole-cell vaccine and provides a high antibody response against the antigens of Bordetella pertussis involved in bacterial adhesion and systemic toxic effects.