Pertussis reemerging: epidemiological profile of confirmed cases

Abstract Introduction Pertussis is an infectious disease that currently has a reemerging profile. Factors such as weaknesses in the immune system, 1-year follow-up vaccination, changes in genotype of the bacteria and increased susceptibility among young and adults have been raising rate of disease incidence. Objective Thus, it is aimed to identify and to characterize the epidemiological profile of confirmed cases in Rio Grande do Norte (RN) state. Method It was analyzed data from RN at Sinan databases from 2011 to 2014. Results It was observed that the confirmed cases were predominantly children under 6 months of age. The classic symptoms of the disease have been identified in most affected. It was also perceived that the confirmed cases were strongly linked to non-uptake of immunization or incomplete vaccination. Conclusion The findings suggest the importance of vaccination to control disease and the need to improve activities surveillance to provide an accurate epidemiological representation of the disease.