- Tonsils are being deliberately infected with Strep A in the laboratory in new research to find a vaccine for the deadly bacteria.
- More than 500,000 people die from Strep A each year, but there is no current vaccine.
- Researchers at The Kids Research Institute Australia have commenced a new study using discarded tonsils from Perth Children’s Hospital, as part of wide-ranging efforts to find a vaccine.
A new study underway at the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, is deliberately infecting tonsils with Strep A in the laboratory to test a range of potential vaccine candidates.
Group A Streptococcus bacteria – or Strep A – is a common childhood infection which can present in a range of ways – from no symptoms or a minor sore throat, right through to invasive Strep A, where the infection enters the bloodstream and can cause life threatening impacts like rheumatic heart disease and sepsis.
Initial infections of the tonsils or the skin can lead to autoimmune diseases or spread to vulnerable sites in the body.
Strep A is the world’s fifth deadliest pathogen which kills more than 500,000 people each year, with children among the most at risk.
The Kids Research Institute Australia is leading a national and international push to secure funding and develop tools to fast-track a vaccine against all diseases caused by Strep A bacteria, potentially having a major global impact on reducing deaths worldwide.
Strep A Pathogenesis and Diagnostics Senior Research Officer, Dr Jua Iwasaki, is leading a program of work to develop a prototype vaccine to prevent Strep A from attaching to tonsils, using discarded tonsils from Perth Children’s Hospital.
“We’re growing tonsils in the lab to be able to test the immune response to Strep A and the vaccines we’re currently developing,” Dr Iwasaki said.
“We might be able to prevent the bacteria from attaching to the tonsils in the first place, which is new, because all the vaccines that are in development are all injectables.
“This could mean we could deliver a vaccine that is more suitable for children, like a spray, that would be more targeted and easier to deliver.”
Dr Iwasaki’s project is one of multiple Strep A projects underway by researchers at the Wesfarmers Centre, which is also home to the Australian Strep A Vaccine Initiative (ASAVI) program of work funded by a $35 million grant from the Australian Government to accelerate the development of a life-saving vaccine.
Dr Iwasaki’s work is funded through Wesfarmers Centre for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases and Western Australian Government’s Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund.