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A syringe and vials of non-typeable Haemophillus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccines to target the two main causes of bacterial ear infections.
Ear infections are one of the most frequently diagnosed childhood diseases. In Australia, there are between 1 and 2.4 million ear infections each year, which affect over 600,000 members of the population.
Although ear infections often resolve without medical intervention, in some cases they occur as repeated episodes throughout childhood, which can lead to hearing loss and other complications. These types of infections can have devastating outcomes. If hearing is impaired, either temporarily or permanently, this can have lasting impacts by imposing learning difficulties and developmental delays in children.
This project aims to investigate a new combined vaccine that targets the two main types of bacteria that cause ear infections. These bacteria hide in plain sight, residing in the nose of healthy people, especially children. However, they can transit to the ears where they can cause infections. If effective, a new vaccine targeting these bacteria could be an important new tool to help prevent and reduce the incidence of ear infections.