Combination of Diphtheria, Pertussis vaccine, and Tetanus vaccine.
DPT also DTP, Tdap, and DTwP refers to a class of combination vaccines against three infectious diseases in humans: diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus.
The vaccine components include diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and killed whole cells of the organism that causes pertussis.
DTaP and Tdap refer to similar combination vaccines in which the component with lower case ‘a’ is acellular.
Also available is the DT or TD vaccine, which lacks the pertussis component.
The Tdap vaccine is currently recommended by the CDC.
Tdap is recommended for adults once in their lifetime.
Pregnant women should receive Tdap during 27-36 weeks gestation of each pregnancy, providing passive immunization to each infant.
The usual course of childhood immunization is five doses between 2 months and 15 years.
For adults, separate booster vaccines are used that adjust the relative concentrations of their components.
DTap and Tdap are both combined vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. The difference is in the dosage, with the upper case letters meaning higher quantity.
DTaP (also DTPa and TDaP) is a combined vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, in which the component with lower case ‘a’ is acellular, in contrast to whole-cell, inactivated DTP (aka DTwP).
The acellular vaccine uses selected antigens of the pertussis pathogen to induce immunity, and it uses fewer antigens than the whole cell vaccines.
The acellular vaccine is considered safer, but it is also more expensive.
The DTP vaccine is more effective than DTaP in conferring immunity, because DTaP’s narrower antigen base is less effective against current pathogen strains.
The acellular vaccine is safer to administer in that it causes an estimated 90% fewer side-effects, which commonly include local pain and redness, or fever.
The lower case “d” and “p” indicated smaller concentrations of diphtheria pertussis toxoids, and “a” in “ap” indicates that the pertussis toxoids are acellular.
Tdap vaccines are recommended its use in adults of all ages, including those age 65 and above.
Recommended that both adolescents and adults receive Tdap in place of their next Td booster which is recommended to be given every 10 years.
Tdap can be used as prophylaxis for tetanus in wound management.
People who will be in contact with young infants are encouraged to get Tdap even if it has been less than 5 years since Td or TT to reduce the risk of infants being exposed to pertussis.
Daptacel is for active immunization in infants and children 6 weeks to 6 years old.
Adacel is indicated for active booster immunization as a single dose in persons 11 to 64 years old and is the first vaccine approved as a pertussis booster for adults.
The component antigens in Adacel and Daptacel are the same, but the relative amounts are much greater with the infant vaccination.
The pediatric formulation contains greater amounts of the detoxified pertussis toxin and diphtheria toxoid.
The World Health Organization recommends a pentavalent vaccine, combining the DTP vaccine with vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae type B and hepatitis B.
If an urgent need for tetanus protection occurs during pregnancy, Td vaccine should be administered.
If no urgent need arises and the woman has previously received tetanus vaccine, Td vaccination should be delayed until the postpartum period.
All postpartum women who have not received Td or Tdap vaccine in the last two years are recommended to receive Tdap prior to discharge after delivery.
It is recommended for pregnant women who have never received tetanus vaccine to receive a series of three Td vaccinations starting during pregnancy to ensure protection against maternal and neonatal tetanus.
In such cases, administration of Tdap is recommended after 20 weeks’ gestation, and in earlier pregnancy a single dose of Tdap can be substituted for one dose of Td, and then the series completed with Td.
Tdap vaccination during pregnancy is not associated with acute or adverse birth events or birth outcomes.
The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that health-care personnel should administer a dose of Tdap during each pregnancy at 27 through 36 weeks gestation irrespective of the patient’s prior history of receiving Tdap.
DTP vaccine seem to have negative non-specific effects other than the beneficial effect against the targeted disease.
BCG or measles vaccine given after DTP reverses the negative effects of DTP.
DPT negative effects are seen mostly in females.
Has strong beneficial effects on overall mortality.