[Awareness and adherence to Pertussis vaccination guidelines by occupational medicine physicians in Paris healthcare institution].

OBJECTIVE:A questionnaire was used on 44 public and private hospital physicians in Paris to evaluate their knowledge of and adherence to Vaccination Guidelines, three years after their introduction. RESULTS:Eighty per cent of the physicians answered and 92.5% were aware of the vaccination guidelines but only 2 out of 4 respected the targeted vaccination in young adults even when the vaccine was available. A policy of pertussis vaccination was applied only in 12 institutions, but even in these, the rate of vaccinated healthcare workers remained low or was not documented. CONCLUSION:Pertussis is a potential risk to newborns not or partially vaccinated in France. Even if the vaccine is available, adherence to pertussis vaccination guidelines must be improved. Efforts should be made to better publicize and apply pertussis vaccination guidelines.