Hoping to prevent ear infections for the more than 15 million children in the United States who suffer from them, a promising new vaccine candidate to prevent middle ear infections (otitis media) is being developed by researchers at the Columbus Children’s Research Institute (CCRI) on the campus of Columbus Children’s Hospital.
According to Lauren Bakaletz, PhD, director of the CCRI Microbial Pathogenesis Center, a faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, and the principle investigator for the CCRI vaccine, the CCRI researchers recently partnered with the National Institutes for Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pharmaceutical companies and other scientists in an effort to expedite the process of developing what they believe is a long-overdue vaccine for ear infections.
“An alliance of this nature has not been formed since the development of the pertussis vaccine for whooping cough,” said Bakaletz. “Through the collaboration, human trials of a vaccine candidate are expected to begin within a year.”
Inner ear infections are the number one reason young children see their pediatricians, present to emergency departments, require surgery and lose their hearing. Further, it’s the number one reason physicians prescribe antibiotics—a growing concern because antibiotic resistance in children will make treating ear and other infections more difficult in the future. A vaccine to prevent ear infections could alleviate these problems.