Evolution of Bordetella pertussis in the acellular vaccine era in Norway, 1996 to 2019
Open Access
- 11 May 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
- Vol. 41 (6), 913-924
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-022-04453-0
Abstract
We described the population structure of Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis) in Norway from 1996 to 2019 and determined if there were evolutionary shifts and whether these correlated with changes in the childhood immunization program. We selected 180 B. pertussis isolates, 22 from the whole cell vaccine (WCV) era (1996–1997) and 158 from the acellular vaccine (ACV) era (1998–2019). We conducted whole genome sequencing and determined the distribution and frequency of allelic variants and temporal changes of ACV genes. Norwegian B. pertussis isolates were evenly distributed across a phylogenetic tree that included global strains. We identified seven different allelic profiles of ACV genes (A–F), in which profiles A1, A2, and B dominated (89%), all having pertussis toxin (ptxA) allele 1, pertussis toxin promoter (ptxP) allele 3, and pertactin (prn) allele 2 present. Isolates with ptxP1 and prn1 were not detected after 2007, whereas the prn2 allele likely emerged prior to 1972, and ptxP3 before the early 1980s. Allele conversions of ACV genes all occurred prior to the introduction of ACV. Sixteen percent of our isolates showed mutations within the prn gene. ACV and its booster doses (implemented for children in 2007 and adolescents in 2013) might have contributed to evolvement of a more uniform B. pertussis population, with recent circulating strains having ptxA1, ptxP3, and prn2 present, and an increasing number of prn mutations. These strains clearly deviate from ACV strains (ptxA1, ptxP1, prn1), and this could have implications for vaccine efficiency and, therefore, prevention and control of pertussis.Keywords
Funding Information
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health
This publication has 54 references indexed in Scilit:
- Small Mutations in Bordetella pertussis Are Associated with Selective SweepsPLOS ONE, 2012
- Appearance of Bordetella pertussis Strains Not Expressing the Vaccine Antigen Pertactin in FinlandClinical and Vaccine Immunology, 2012
- Population Diversity amongBordetella pertussisIsolates, United States, 1935–2009Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2012
- Prevalence and Genetic Characterization of Pertactin-Deficient Bordetella pertussis in JapanPLOS ONE, 2012
- Short-lived immunity against pertussis, age-specific routes of transmission, and the utility of a teenage booster vaccineVaccine, 2012
- Rationale for pertussis booster vaccination throughout life in EuropeThe Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2011
- Bordetella parapertussis isolates not expressing pertactin circulating in FranceClinical Microbiology & Infection, 2011
- Bordetella pertussisStrains with Increased Toxin Production Associated with Pertussis ResurgenceEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2009
- Bordetella pertussis, the Causative Agent of Whooping Cough, Evolved from a Distinct, Human-Associated Lineage of B. bronchisepticaPLoS Pathogens, 2005
- The Epidemiology of Pertussis: A Comparison of the Epidemiology of the Disease Pertussis With the Epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis InfectionPEDIATRICS, 2005