SYNOPSIS:Vaccines against pertussis (whooping cough) were introduced in most developed countries in the 1950s, resulting in a dramatic reduction in disease and death, particularly among vulnerable young infants. Despite this initial success, however, resurgence of pertussis has been documented recently in Australia, the UK and the US in the face of high vaccine coverage. This phenomenon has highlighted critical uncertainties regarding the determinants of pertussis infection and mechanisms of vaccine protection. We have developed models of pertussis to shed insight on key drivers of observed epidemiologic trends, informing national and international immunisation policy.

SPEAKER:Associate Professor Jodie McVernon is a University Medical Graduate with subspecialty training in Paediatrics, Public Health and Vaccinology. She has extensive expertise in clinical vaccine trials, epidemiologic studies and mathematical modelling of infectious diseases, gained at the University of Oxford, Health Protection Agency London and University of Melbourne. She heads the Modelling and Simulation Unit within the Infection and Immunity Theme of MCRI and the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. Her research group uses mathematical and computational models to synthesise insights gained from basic biology and sociological research to advance understanding of infectious disease epidemiology, and inform policy for disease prevention and control.