Next to last paragraph of this release is interesting:
Tuesday May 4 3:22 PM ET
Nasal vaccine protects children against flu
NEW YORK, May 03 (Reuters Health) -- An influenza vaccine administered as a quick, painless nasal spray has proven
effective in protecting children against the flu, researchers report.
''To control influenza epidemics, we may need to routinely immunize children,'' explained study lead author Dr. William Gruber
of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He believes that ''this new delivery method will, hopefully,
make the entire process of receiving vaccinations easier and more effective.''
The findings were presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, held in San Francisco this
week.
Rates of influenza infection are highest among young children, who on average have at least three bouts of flu before reaching
the age of 5. Children are also a major 'vector' for transmitting flu to adults.
Current influenza immunization involves an intramuscular injection that can be painful and traumatic for youngsters.
In their study, Gruber's team studied the results of administering a painless nasal spray containing either flu vaccine or a 'dummy'
placebo to more than 1,600 children between 15 months to 6 years of age. The vaccine, administered prior to the 1998-1999
flu season, was designed to protect against the predominant H1N1 strain of the virus.
The authors report that ''overall, the vaccine was 83% efficacious'' in protecting children against the H1N1 flu strain.
Most vaccines work by 'priming' the body to produce infection-fighting antibodies targeted against live virus. However, the
researchers note that some of the vaccinated children appeared to be protected against H1N1 even though they showed no
evidence of H1N1 antibodies, either in their bloodstream or nasal passages.
''This development raises the possibility that there is something else responsible for protection against respiratory viruses
besides antibodies,'' Gruber said in a statement.
The nasal spray vaccine has already proven effective in previous studies at protecting children against the A (H3N3) and B
strains of the influenza virus.
The nasal vaccine is gentler on children, and may also offer them more protection against flu than traditional injected methods.
Many experts believe it makes good medical sense to inoculate the nasal passages, since they are so often the primary site of
infection for the influenza virus.
The study was supported in part by a grant from Aviron, of Mountain View, California, the maker of the spray tested in the
study. |
