Three experimental vaccines applied in a new way were effective in preventing ear infections in an animal study. And the researchers involve say that the new method could offer a potentially "transformative" approach to vaccine delivery.
"Previous work in our lab showed that after immunization by injection, each of the three vaccine candidates prevented experimental ear infections caused by NTHi," said study researcher Laura Novotny of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
The experimental vaccines were delivered transcutaneously, with a droplet applied to the ear and rubbed into the skin. Three groups of animals received the vaccines and one group was treated with a placebo before all groups were exposed to a common bacteria that causes infections.
"Our data are the first to show that transcutaneous immunization is an effective way to prevent experimental ear infections and lays the foundation for an effective, yet simple, inexpensive--and potentially transformative--way to deliver vaccines," Novotny said.
- read the report from UPI