The world’s first safe and effective vaccine against toxic shock syndrome has been successfully tested it in a Phase I trial, it was announced today.
The vaccine, which has ‘practically no’ side effects and has been tested on 46 young men and women, was developed from a detoxified Staphylococcus toxin.
The syndrome was first identified in the 1980s when young women developed reactions to the tampons issued at the time.
Production of these items is now regulated – but the developers say young women remain at risk as do people with weakened immune systems exposed to common bacteria such as staphylococci.
Now researchers from MedUni Vienna’s Department of Clinical Pharmacology, with Biomedizinische Forschungsgesellschaft mbH in Vienna, have published their results in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
They say the effect of the vaccine is similar to that of a tetanus vaccination.
Martha Eibl, director of Biomedizinische Forschungsgesellscaft mbH and former university professor at the Institute for Immunology of the medical faculty of the University of Vienna, added: “We are well on the way to having a vaccine that prevents this series disease. However, it will still take some years before it is in clinical use.”
Schwameis M, Rappenser B, Firbas C et al. Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a recombinant toxic shock syndrome toxin (rTSST)-1 variant vaccine: a randomised, double-blind, adjuvant-controlled, dose escalation first-in-man-trial. Lancet Infectious Diseases 11 June 2016. [abstract]
Leave a Reply