This week in PLoS Medicine: Incidence and reproduction numbers of pertussis; The prevalence and drug-sensitivity of TB in patients in South African hospitals

As well as the series on mother, newborn and child health in sub-Saharan Africa launched on Monday, this week saw the publication of two research papers in PLoS Medicine.

Analyses of serological and social contact data from several European countries by Miriam Kretzschmar and colleagues show that vaccination against pertussis has shifted the burden of infection from children to adolescents and adults. Also, a postmortem study by Ted Cohen and colleagues reveals a huge toll of tuberculosis among patients dying in hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.