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Research

Nasal Delivery of Haemophilus haemolyticus Is Safe, Reduces Influenza Severity, and Prevents Development of Otitis Media in Mice

Despite vaccination, influenza and otitis media (OM) remain leading causes of illness. We previously found that the human respiratory commensal Haemophilus haemolyticus prevents bacterial infection in vitro and that the related murine commensal Muribacter muris delays OM development in mice. The observation that M muris pretreatment reduced lung influenza titer and inflammation suggests that these bacteria could be exploited for protection against influenza/OM.

News & Events

The Kids Research Institute Australia launches Covid-19 booster research to inform Australia’s vaccine policy

Optimising our national Covid-19 vaccine program could be one step closer thanks to new research now underway at The Kids Research Institute Australia investigating the most effective, long-term strategies for booster vaccinations.

News & Events

Study which deliberately infected participants leads to penicillin breakthrough

A unique study purposely giving participants Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) to learn how much penicillin it takes to prevent infection has found the amount needed is much lower than previously thought – a discovery that will transform thinking on treatment for people living with rheumatic heart disease (RHD).

Research

Does a major change to a COVID-19 vaccine program alter vaccine intention? A qualitative investigation

On 8th April 2021, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) made the Pfizer-BioNtech (Comirnaty) vaccine the “preferred” vaccine for adults in Australia aged < 50 years due to a risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) following AstraZeneca vaccination. We sought to understand whether this impacted COVID-19 vaccine intentions.

Research

Consensus guidelines for antifungal stewardship, surveillance and infection prevention, 2021

Invasive fungal diseases (IFD) are serious infections associated with high mortality, particularly in immunocompromised patients. The prescribing of antifungal agents to prevent and treat IFD is associated with substantial economic burden on the health system, high rates of adverse drug reactions, significant drug-drug interactions and the emergence of antifungal resistance.

Research

Clindamycin adjunctive therapy for severe Staphylococcus aureus treatment evaluation (CASSETTE)-an open-labelled pilot randomized controlled trial

Combination antibiotic therapy with an antitoxin agent, such as clindamycin, is included in some guidelines for severe, toxin-mediated Staphylococcus aureus infections. The evidence to support this practice is currently limited to in vitro, animal and observational human case-series data, with no previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Research

Preventing severe influenza in Australian infants: Maternal influenza vaccine effectiveness in the PAEDS-FluCAN networks using the test-negative design

Christopher Blyth MBBS (Hons) DCH FRACP FRCPA PhD Centre Head, Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases; Co-Head, Infectious Diseases

Research

Predominant Bacterial and Viral Otopathogens Identified Within the Respiratory Tract and Middle Ear of Urban Australian Children Experiencing Otitis Media Are Diversely Distributed

Otitis media (OM) is one of the most common infections in young children, arising from bacterial and/or viral infection of the middle ear. Globally, Streptococcus pneumoniae and non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) are the predominant bacterial otopathogens. Importantly, common upper respiratory viruses are increasingly recognized contributors to the polymicrobial pathogenesis of OM.

Research

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination for protection against recurrent herpes labialis: a nested randomised controlled trial

Recurrences of herpes simplex virus (HSV) in the orofacial region (herpes labialis or cold sores) impact quality-of-life. We aimed to study whether the bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine can attenuate cold sore recurrences through off-target immunomodulatory effects.

Research

Randomised controlled trial of perinatal vitamin D supplementation to prevent early-onset acute respiratory infections among Australian First Nations children: the 'D-Kids' study protocol

Globally, acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. While ARI-related mortality is low in Australia, First Nations infants are hospitalised with ARIs up to nine times more often than their non-First Nations counterparts.