Intranasal Treatment of Ferrets with Inert Bacterial Spores Reduces Disease Caused by a Challenging H7N9 Avian Influenza Virus

Autor: Joe James, Stephanie M. Meyer, Huynh A. Hong, Chau Dang, Ho T. Y. Linh, William Ferreira, Paidamoyo M. Katsande, Linh Vo, Daniel Hynes, William Love, Ashley C. Banyard, Simon M. Cutting
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Vaccines, Vol 10, Iss 9, p 1559 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2076-393X
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10091559
Popis: Background: Influenza is a respiratory infection that continues to present a major threat to human health, with ~500,000 deaths/year. Continued circulation of epidemic subtypes in humans and animals potentially increases the risk of future pandemics. Vaccination has failed to halt the evolution of this virus and next-generation prophylactic approaches are under development. Naked, “heat inactivated”, or inert bacterial spores have been shown to protect against influenza in murine models. Methods: Ferrets were administered intranasal doses of inert bacterial spores (DSM 32444K) every 7 days for 4 weeks. Seven days after the last dose, the animals were challenged with avian H7N9 influenza A virus. Clinical signs of infection and viral shedding were monitored. Results: Clinical symptoms of infection were significantly reduced in animals dosed with DSM 32444K. The temporal kinetics of viral shedding was reduced but not prevented. Conclusion: Taken together, nasal dosing using heat-stable spores could provide a useful approach for influenza prophylaxis in both humans and animals.
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