Overview of currently available Japanese acellular pertussis vaccines and future problems.

Acellular pertussis diphtheria, tetanus vaccine (APDT) was licensed in 1981 in Japan. This vaccine contains pertussis toxin (PT), filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and agglutinogen (AGG) as the main protective antigens. The new APDT vaccine produced by each company differs slightly in composition. There are two representative types of vaccine. One vaccine (B type) contains PT and FHA in a ratio of 1 to 1 and the other one (T type) contains PT and FHA in a ratio of 4 to 1 or 9 to 1 and also contains different amounts of AGG. We have been comparing the effectiveness of these two types of vaccine. The adverse reactions of APDT were local reactions such as redness and swelling, with a few febrile cases. No central nervous system adverse reactions were observed. The antibody protective level of this vaccine is also being investigated. After we changed from conventional vaccine to APDT, the frequency of serious adverse reactions was reduced and the number of pertussis infections also gradually decreased. This vaccine should be used for the children world-wide.