acellular pertussis vaccine (NIAID)

The acellular pertussis vaccine (NIAID) refers to the purified protein subunit vaccine technology developed and evaluated under the sponsorship of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). This vaccine was designed as a safer alternative to the whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine, which was associated with high rates of local and systemic reactogenicity. The NIAID-sponsored program was instrumental in conducting pivotal Phase III clinical trials, most notably the landmark study in Italy (1992–1994), which compared the efficacy and safety of multi-component acellular vaccines (containing pertussis toxoid, filamentous hemagglutinin, and pertactin) against whole-cell vaccines and placebos in infants. The success of these trials demonstrated that acellular vaccines provided high levels of protection with significantly fewer adverse effects, leading to the global transition toward DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis) formulations in pediatric immunization schedules.

Other names

aP vaccineacellular pertussis vaccineNIAID acellular pertussis vaccine