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Research

Impact of Repeat Pertussis Vaccination on Infant and Maternal Antibody Quality

Ruth Peter Thornton Richmond RT PC PhD MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP Co-head, Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG) Head, Vaccine Trials Group

Research

Targeting host-microbial interactions to develop otitis media therapies

Otitis media (OM; middle ear infection) is the most common reason for pre-school children to visit a doctor, be prescribed antimicrobials, or undergo surgery. Recent Cochrane reviews of clinical trials have identified that antibiotics and grommet surgery are only moderately effective in treating OM, with recurrent or persistent infection observed in one-third of children. Research efforts are focusing on developing improved therapies to treat OM and prevent disease recurrence.

Research

Immunogenicity and Immune Memory after a Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine Booster in a High-Risk Population Primed with Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine

PPV is immunogenic in 9-month-old children at high risk of pneumococcal infections and does not affect the capacity to produce protective immune responses

Research

Panel 4: Recent advances in understanding the natural history of the otitis media microbiome and its response to environmental pressures

Advances in understanding bacterial dynamics in the upper airway microbiome are driving development of microbiota-modifying therapies to prevent or treat disease

Research

An infant mouse model of influenza-driven nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae colonization and acute otitis media suitable for preclinical testing of novel therapies

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a major otitis media (OM) pathogen, with colonization a prerequisite for disease development. Most acute OM is in children <5 years old, with recurrent and chronic OM impacting hearing and learning. Therapies to prevent NTHi colonization and/or disease are needed, especially for young children. Respiratory viruses are implicated in driving the development of bacterial OM in children.