Healthy 18-55 year olds are being called on for a trial investigating immunity to whooping cough.
Vaccine less effective against life-threatening disease
Whooping cough, or pertussis, causes persistent coughing and breathing difficulties for up to three months. Whilst adults can have no symptoms, mild cold-like symptoms or sometimes a prolonged cough, the effects on babies under six months can be severe and even life-threatening.
Caused by bacteria, it is highly infectious spreading through coughs and sneezes. It affects around 16 million people every year worldwide, particularly in developing countries.
All UK babies are offered a vaccine, but this doesn’t offer lifelong protection. It is also less effective than when introduced 15 years ago. That’s contributed to a four-fold rise in UK cases, from 6,216 between 2005 and 2011 to 25,891 during 2012-2018.
Nose drops to investigate immunity
Prof Robert Read has pioneered the practice of giving people bacteria in their nose to prevent disease. He now aims to use that approach to investigate long-lasting immunity to whooping cough and help with the development of new vaccines.
The PERISCOPE study will use nose drops to give participants a small, carefully refined dose of Bordetella pertussis bacteria - enough for the bacteria to settle in the nose and hopefully trigger an immune response, but not enough to make the person sick.
The team will then look at participants’ immune responses against the bacteria, to see how well they protect people against future whooping cough infection.
At the end of the study they will give the participants antibiotics to clear the bacteria.
Taking part
The study involves attending up to 12 visits over 4-6 months at the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility and a course of antibiotics. Participants will be compensated up to £1000 for their time, travel and inconvenience.
If you are interested in taking part, please contact the study team at UHS.recruitmentCRF@nhs.net or call 023 8120 3853.