Swedish researchers have announced the successful development of a vaccine against E.coli infection.
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg say they have successfully tested the vaccine on healthy volunteers.
They hope the vaccine will help prevent hundreds of thousands of child deaths in poor countries – as well as dozens of people who fall ill after travelling to these countries.
It can be administered by mouth.
The researchers say it has been developed from four strains of E.coli and a protein found in the enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli bacteria.
Some 129 volunteers took part in the study, with some of them receiving placebo vaccine. The researchers say there was no sign of serious side-effects and that 75% of the volunteers showed signs of developing immune protection against E.coli.
The findings are due to be reported later this year at international conferences on vaccines in Copenhagen, Denmark, and in Bangkok, Thailand.
A university spokesman said: "Based on these very encouraging results, additional clinical studies are planned to document protective efficacy in travellers, and to study the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine when given to children living in areas endemic for enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli bacteria."
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