Using Experimental Pneumococcal Colonization to Test Vaccine Efficacy

In a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial, colonization with the 6B serotype was reduced by 78% in adults who received the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Although the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) has been shown to prevent disease in young children and induce herd immunity in adults, more-effective products are urgently needed. Current testing strategies that rely on disease prevention as an endpoint are costly and require large numbers of participants. Researchers in the U.K. have developed an experimental human pneumococcal colonization (EHPC) model in which healthy adult volunteers receive intranasal inoculations of 6B serotype, and protection from experimental colonization is used as a surrogate endpoint for evaluating vaccine efficacy. Now, they have tested this model in a randomized, controlled study involving nonsmoking, healthy volunteers aged 18 to 50.

Forty-nine par…

Reviewing Author

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Using Experimental Pneumococcal Colonization to Test Vaccine Efficacy

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Reviewing Author