Clinical Study 2 – BERT Study

Why is the BERT study conducted?

The BERT (Booster pertussis vaccine study) study investigates how cells in the blood respond to a recurrent vaccination against whooping cough. It determines whether this response depends on age, the number of vaccines that someone has received during his/her childhood and the type of vaccine that has been administered to someone in his/her youth. The study investigates the immune response in the blood of people of different ages. In the blood the amount of antibodies that someone produces for whooping cough is measured. Further, the reaction of the memory cells in the blood is investigated in different ways. These results can contribute to better vaccines in the future, thus optimizing the protection against whooping cough.

Whooping cough is an infection of the respiratory tract. This infection is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis) and is characterized mainly by a typical cough that often lasts for 3-4 months. The disease is also known as 'hundred-day cough'. Whooping cough is transmitted through droplet infection. In coughing patients, infectiousness lasts three weeks after the onset of the symptoms. Also someone without symptoms can infect others.

Where does the study take place?

The BERT study is conducted across three different clinical sites in Europe.