Salmonella-based shots hold promise against fatal diseases
Saturday, 02 July 2011, 00:00 IST
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Washington: A powerful new class of vaccines, derived from Salmonella, holds great promise in fighting fatal diseases like hepatitis B, cholera, typhoid, AIDS and pneumonia. Qingke Kong and his colleagues at the Arizona State University have developed a technique to make such vaccines, derived from Salmonella, which otherwise causes food poisoning, safer and more effective. The group, under the direction of Roy Curtiss, chief scientist at Biodesign's Centre for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at Arizona, demonstrated that a modified strain of Salmonella showed a five-fold reduction in virulence in mice, while bolstering immunity. Streptococcus pneumoniae, a bacterium, causes community-acquired pneumonia, meningitis and bacteremia (presence of bugs in blood) and remains a leading killer. Childhood pneumonia alone claims three million lives annually, reports the Journal of Immunology. Existing vaccines are inadequate for protecting vulnerable populations for several reasons. Heat stabilisation and needle injection are required, which are often impractical for mass inoculation efforts in the developing world, according to an Arizona State University statement. Repeated doses are also needed to induce full immunity. Finally, the exorbitant costs of existing shots often deprive those who need them most, especially in poorer countries. The problem is made worse by the recent emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of pneumococcus, causing pneumonia. The research was supported by grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institute of Health.
Source: IANS
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