Table 3.

Key historical aspects of the development of the pertussis vaccines^2,12

The whole-cell pertussis vaccine was introduced in developed countries in the 1940s and was soon widely adopted
In the United States, the number of reported pertussis cases per year decreased from a high of 250,000 to a low of 1000 in the late 1980s
The whole-cell pertussis vaccine was effective but febrile episodes and seizures occurred in young infants
The more reactogenic whole-cell pertussis vaccine was replaced by the less reactogenic and slightly less-effective acellular vaccine in 1997
Unfortunately, in 2012, > 41,000 cases were reported in the United States, the highest in 50 years
Immunity from natural disease and immunization begins to wane after ∼10 years*

*From Ref. 11.