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Cited by 113Bacterial Infections and VaccinesData-Driven Disease SurveillanceDiphtheria, Corynebacterium, and Tetanus

Deaths from pertussis are underestimated in England

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Crowcroft, N S·2002·Archives of Disease in Childhood
DOI 10.1136/adc.86.5.336PMC PMC1751114
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Abstract

AIMS: To improve estimates of deaths from pertussis in England and to identify reasons for under ascertainment. METHODS: Comparison of deaths identified from enhanced laboratory pertussis surveillance, hospital episode statistics (HES), and Office for National Statistics (ONS) death registrations in England, 1994 to 1999. RESULTS: A total of 33 deaths were identified, 88% of infants less than 4 months old. There was overlap between all sources; 22 deaths were identified in the enhanced pertussis surveillance system, 18 in ONS mortality data, and nine in HES. Children who had died from pertussis without mention of pertussis on the death certificate were more likely to have been certified by coroners than those with mention of pertussis (p = 0.0005). Using capture-recapture analysis, the total number of deaths from pertussis in the five and a half year period is estimated to be 46 (95% CI 37 to 71), or around nine deaths per year. CONCLUSIONS: National mortality statistics significantly under estimate deaths from pertussis in England and are inadequate for monitoring the national immunisation programme. The largest number of deaths is identified through enhanced laboratory surveillance. Death registration systems should take into account available microbiological information to ensure that cause of death is accurately assigned.

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  1. [1]1. Van Buynder PG, Owen D Vurdien JE, et al. Bordetella pertussis surveillance in England and Wales. Epidemiol Infect 1999;123:403-11.
  2. [5]5. Crowcroft NS, Spicer L, Tzivra O, et al. Pertussis is under-estimated in infants admitted to paediatric intensive care units and wards in London. Proceedings of the 19th Annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases. ESPID, 2001.
  3. [6]6. Devis T, Rooney C. Death certification and the epidemiologist. Health Statistics Quarterly 1999;01:21-33.

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Authors
Crowcroft, N. S.
Affiliations
Office for National Statistics (GB)
Corresponding author
Crowcroft, N S
Venue
Archives of Disease in Childhood
Publisher
BMJ
Published
2002-05-01
Volume
86
Issue
5
Pages
336-338
ISSN
  • 0003-9888 (ISSN-L)
  • 1468-2044
DOI
10.1136/adc.86.5.336
PMC
PMC1751114
OpenAlex
W2128448588
Semantic Scholar
0db592721f675273c121f2fef91a5fc885f62c0e
Cited by
113
References
4
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 4 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 5
FWCI
6.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Archives of Disease in Childhood (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Bacterial Infections and Vaccines
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Data-Driven Disease Surveillance
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Endocrinology › Diphtheria, Corynebacterium, and Tetanus
Keywords
pertussis, pertussis mortality, under-ascertainment, death certification, causes of death, mark-recapture, Hospital Episode Statistics, death registration, infant mortality, England
MeSH terms
Cause of Death, Death Certificates, England, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Registries, Sensitivity and Specificity, Whooping Cough

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