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Vaccination of a new generation: refusal to use a needle
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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British scientists from London's Royal Holloway University have developed a unique method of oral vaccination, which can increase the body's defenses against tuberculosis, as well as with Clostridium difficile, a kind of bacterium that causes pseudomembranous colitis, severe rectal infectious diseases that result from destruction of intestinal microflora due to the use of antibiotics.
According to scientists, last year this infection caused the death of more than four thousand people, and the total number of infected people is about 50 thousand people. The mortality from this infection is higher than that of Staphylococcus aureus.
The vaccine was developed by Professor Simon Cutting.
Clinical tests show that a new vaccine, which can be taken in the form of a pill, provides reliable protection against Clostridium difficile.
Serious danger Clostridium difficile is for the elderly and the youngest patients, whose immune system is weakened and susceptible to virus attacks.
"Currently, there is no effective vaccine against this pathogen, and despite the fact that new drugs are being tested at the moment, none of them provides full protection against infection," the professor said.
Professor Cutting combined Clostridium difficile and spores of bacteria that live in the human gastrointestinal tract. Specialists of Bacillus subtilis through the introduction of Clostridium difficile. As a result, key parts of the pathogen surfaced on the surface of the pores. Spores transferred pathogenic particles through the intestinal wall, causing an immune response that will protect the body in the future. A similar technology can be used for vaccination against influenza and tuberculosis, only in the form of a nasal spray.
The scientist plans to conduct a trial of a new vaccine in human beings in the near future.
"A bacterium-based vaccine has additional advantages, unlike other approaches to treatment, because oral administration of the drug is more effective in combating Clostridium difficile," the author of the study says.