Houston: Scientists,
including one of Indian origin, have developed an oral vaccine against
Salmonella - the deadly bacteria responsible for one of the most common
food-borne illnesses in the world.
“In the current study, we analysed the immune
responses of mice that received the vaccination by mouth as well as how they
responded to a lethal dose of salmonella,” said Ashok Chopra, professor at The
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) in the US. “We found
that the orally administered vaccines produced strong immunity against
salmonella, showing their potential for future use in people,” said Chopra.
Salmonella is responsible for one of the most common
food-borne illnesses in the world. In the US alone, the Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention estimates that there are about 1.4 million cases with
15,000 hospitalisations and 400 deaths each year.
It is thought that for every reported case, there are
about 39 undiagnosed infections. Salmonella infection in people with
compromised immune systems and children under the age of three are at increased
risk of invasive non-typhoidal salmonellosis, which causes systemic infection.
There are about one million cases globally per year, with a 25 per cent
fatality rate.
In earlier studies, UTMB researchers developed
potential vaccines from three genetically mutated versions of the salmonella
bacteria, that is Salmonella Typhimurium, that were shown to protect mice
against a lethal dose of salmonella. In these studies, the vaccines were given
as an injection.
The findings were published in the journal Frontiers
in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. -PTI
Source: DNA-22nd-December-2016
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