Research Projects

This project has been developed to study the impact of maternal immune status on infant susceptibility to pertussis through a multicentre seroepidemiological and surveillance study.India alone has contributed 37,274 pertussis cases to the global burden in 2016. Despite this, very little information on pertussis is available from India in recent years. Diagnosis of pertussis largely remains clinical, as laboratory services are usually not available except in a few apex institutions . A recent multinational serosurveillance study, conducted in ten Asian countries, including India demonstrated serologic evidence of significant circulation of B. pertussis amongst Asian children and adolescents regardless of vaccination background. There is therefore an urgent need to further study the seroepidemiology of pertussis in general population and pregnant women and generate evidence for identification of age groups which may potentially benefit from booster immunizations The study will also generate information on pertussis immunity among different age groups, focusing on adolescents and women of child bearing age. Laboratory capacity for pertussis diagnostics will be strengthened through implementation of this project.