Date:	Aug. 10, 2007
Contact:	Ellen Averill, OSU Center for Health Sciences (918) 561-8215

OSU Vaccines to Fight Causes of Childhood Respiratory Illnesses

Oklahoma State University – Center for Health Sciences is currently studying two different intranasal vaccines targeted at lowering the incidence rates of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 (PIV3) in young children.

RSV is estimated to cause up to 90% of bronchiolitis and 40% of pneumonia resulting in millions of cases in young children each year.  This virus is of particular public health concern because it strikes otherwise healthy children as well. 

PIV3 is the second leading cause of the same illnesses.  It affects 1 in 1000 children.  Tests show that most children have been exposed by age two.  Most hospitalized cases occur in children under one year of age

OSU hopes to show that the experimental vaccines will prove safe while providing protection against RSV and/or PIV3.  There is one treatment already available, Synagis, for the prevention of RSV, but it is only for high risk children, such as those born premature.  However, there is no vaccine or specific treatment available for PIV3.

OSU will be participating in clinical trials that are designed to gather safety and efficacy data to show whether newly developed intranasal vaccines for RSV and PIV3 will benefit the community.  These particular vaccines are expected to be given as a series of three vaccinations, each two months apart.

The goal is to vaccinate the children before antibodies passed on by the mother at birth wear off and while the child is still in the age range at the highest risk.  The amount of protection children in the study receive will be measured by antibodies seen in periodic blood samples and viral shedding noted in nasal wash specimens. 

Studies like the ones OSU will be participating in are funded by the company that has developed each vaccine.  Vaccine studies of this type have already been through testing for several years before they reach the stage of OSU involvement.  At this point the developers of the vaccines are still trying to narrow down the exact strength and frequency of dose that should be used with these vaccines.  So far the results of these formulations have been positive enough to continue with development.  Even if this study’s results are positive, it would still be years until it could be cleared by the FDA for use in the general population.  

OSU is also studying vaccines for meningitis, pneumonia, and Hepatitis A in young children, and recently Human Papillomavirus.

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa, Okla., offers programs in osteopathic medicine, biomedical sciences and forensic sciences, with an emphasis on preparing physicians for rural and under-served Oklahoma. The OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine has been nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top medical schools in the nation for the past seven years. OSU operates six clinics, five in Tulsa and one in Enid.