The reasons for the higher pertussis incidence among Hispanic infants, compared with among infants of other ethnicities, are unknown. The geometric mean concentration of pertussis toxin-specific immunoglobulin G in serum samples from 220 Hispanic neonates was 8.45 EU/mL, as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and it was significantly lower if mothers were adolescents (4.63 EU/mL; P < or =.001). A lack of maternal immunity is one explanation for pertussis susceptibility in very young Hispanic infants.
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Healy et al. (2006) studied this question.
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