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2025 theme: Vaccines

Abstract

BACKGROUND

A surge in pertussis occurred in the Netherlands in 2023–24. Infant vaccination uptake decreased from 95% in 2011 to ca 86% in 2024. Maternal vaccination was introduced in 2019, with uptake ca 70%.

AIM

To describe pertussis epidemiological trends in the Netherlands.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study using pertussis notification data from 2012 to 2024 and estimated infant and maternal vaccine effectiveness (VE) with the screening method.

RESULTS

During the COVID-19 pandemic, pertussis notifications dropped from ca 6,000 in 2013–19 to 79 in 2021 (incidence ca 35 to < 0.01/100,000 population). Notifications surged from May 2023, peaking in March 2024, resulting in 18,208 notifications in 2024 (102/100,000). Notifications and hospitalisations in 2024 were highest among infants aged 0–5 months (573 and 304/100,000) followed by infants aged 6–11 months (446 and 92/100,000). Annually, 0–2 deaths were reported; in 2023–24, 10 deaths were reported (6 infants, 4  ≥ 60-year-olds). In 2024, 83% of mothers of notified infants aged 0–2 months were unvaccinated. In 2020–24, maternal VE against pertussis in infants aged 0–2 months was 91%. In 2012–24 primary series VE was 98% at age 1, 92% at age 3, 92% post-booster at age 5, and 71% at age 9 years.

CONCLUSION

Low population immunity after 2 years of reduced circulation likely contributed to the highest pertussis incidence ever recorded in the Netherlands, posing a particular threat to unprotected infants. Maternal and infant VE are high, underscoring the public health priority of enhancing vaccination uptake.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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2026-04-16
2026-05-15
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Surveillance and vaccine effectiveness of pertussis, the Netherlands, 2012 to 2024, with an unprecedented surge in 2023 and 2024
<p class="citation"> <span>Citation style for this article:</span> <span class="meta-value authors"> <a href="/search?value1=Annika+van+Roon&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">van Roon Annika</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Dimphey+van+Meijeren&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">van Meijeren Dimphey</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Brechje+de+Gier&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">de Gier Brechje</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Margreet+te+Wierik&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">te Wierik Margreet</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Hester+de+Melker&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">de Melker Hester</a></span>. Surveillance and vaccine effectiveness of pertussis, the Netherlands, 2012 to 2024, with an unprecedented surge in 2023 and 2024. <a href="/content/ecdc">Euro Surveill.</a> 2026;31(15):pii=2500919. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2026.31.15.2500919" title="doi link" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2026.31.15.2500919</a> <span class="ES_Article_citation"> <span class="generated">Received</span>: 05 Dec 2025;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="generated">Accepted</span>: 05 Mar 2026 </span> </p>
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