Ep4. A vaccine given to mum but for bub - Whooping Cough: The Pertussis Prevention Prescription. Expert Guest: Professor Adam Finn

Episode 4: A vaccine given to mum but for bub - Whooping Cough: The Pertussis Prevention Prescription. Expert Guest: Professor Adam Finn

Dr Lydia Yarlott & co-host Dr Eliz Kilich, is joined by our special guest  Professor Adam Finn,

who is a Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Bristol, in the UK.

His research interests include immunity to bacterial respiratory illnesses. He is also a senior clinician in the paediatric immunology and infectious diseases service at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and the South West region and heads the Bristol Vaccine Centre. 

In addition, he was Chairman of the WHO European Technical Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization from 2011 to 2022. He has spent ten years as ex officio member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, Member of the UK Department of Health Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation from 2014-2024). He also spent 4 years during 2015-2019 as President of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases.

Also check out Professor Adam Finn's TED talk below:Tinyurl.com/afinnwhoop

References: 

Amirthalingam, Gayatri et al. “Effectiveness of maternal pertussis vaccination in England: an observational study.” Lancet (London, England) vol. 384,9953 (2014): 1521-8. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60686-3

D'Heilly C, Switzer C, Macina D. Safety of Maternal Immunization Against Pertussis: A Systematic Review. Infect Dis Ther. 2019 Dec;8(4):543-568. doi: 10.1007/s40121-019-00265-6. Epub 2019 Sep 17. PMID: 31531826; PMCID: PMC6856234.

Briga, M., Goult, E., Brett, T.S. et al. Maternal pertussis immunization and the blunting of routine vaccine effectiveness: a meta-analysis and modeling study. Nat Commun 15, 921 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44943-7

Abu-Raya B, Forsyth K, Halperin SA, Maertens K, Jones CE, Heininger U, Hozbor D, Wirsing von König CH, Chitkara AJ, Muloiwa R, Tan TQ. Vaccination in Pregnancy against Pertussis: A Consensus Statement on Behalf of the Global Pertussis Initiative. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Nov 23;10(12):1990. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10121990. PMID: 36560400; PMCID: PMC9786323.

Aim of the Podcast

1. What is Whooping cough / the bug that causes it - Bordetella pertussis?
2. Why is the pertussis vaccination and what are the recommendations for it in pregnancy and in childhood?
3. The safety data for the vaccines
4. Why the whooping cough/ pertussis vaccine is repeated in infancy after maternal vaccination and the benefits of this approach? 
5. To talk about newer vaccines that are being developed