Protection against Tetanus and Diphtheria in Europe: The impact of age, gender and country of origin based on data from the MARK-AGE Study

Due to the successful implementation of vaccination strategies early-life morbidity and mortality due to infectious disease has been reduced dramatically. Vaccines against tetanus and diphtheria are among the most frequently used vaccines worldwide, but various studies in different European countries have shown that protection against tetanus and particularly against diphtheria is unsatisfactory in adults and older persons. In this study we analyzed tetanus- and diphtheria-specific antibody concentrations in 2100 adults of different age from 6 selected European countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland) in order to investigate differences in the level of protection against tetanus and diphtheria across Europe.

Weinberger B, Keller M, Putzer C, Breitenberger D, Koller B, Fiegl S, Moreno-Villanueva M, Bernhardt J, Franceschi C, Voutetakis K, Gonos ES, Hurme M, Sikora E, Toussaint O, Debacq-Chainiaux F, Grune T, Breusing N, Bürkle A, Grubeck-Loebenstein B

Exp Gerontol. 2018 May; 105:109-112. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2017.08.037. Epub 2017 Oct 7