Is a pediatric ear vaccine coming soon?
While my daughter was in daycare for almost the first 8 mos of her life, she developed three ear infections for a 3-month stretch there; one for each month. Needless to say, I was very unhappy about it. Ear infections aren’t that uncommon in children though, so I’m glad that they’re actually trying to develop an ear vaccine for children.
The vaccine has been tested on, of all things, chinchillas, and can be administered via droplets rubbed on the skin. Can you imagine, no needles! (But why chinchillas?).
The chinchillas received the treatment once a week for three weeks. A control group received a placebo. The chinchillas that were vaccinated were then introduced to haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), one of the three main bacterial causes of otitis media, an infection/inflammation of the middle ear. The result: rapid reduction or complete elimination of the NTHi.
It sounds promising, and I hope that we see this vaccine soon. In the scheme of things, ear infections aren’t that serious, but many babies get ear infections at a frequent enough rate that a vaccine to prevent such an infection would certainly be welcome.
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