Strep throat vaccine may be possible
March 9th, 2008Surviving countless scratchy throats and red, swollen tonsils throughout my childhood, “strep throat” became something I grew accustomed to.
I no longer gagged when the pediatrician shoved a tongue depressor in my mouth and asked me to say “ahh.”
This week, I read about the possibility of a strep throat vaccine. The news was exciting, especially for people like me, who were prone to strep as children.
According to Reuters, Group A streptococcal infections strike more than 600 million people each year and kill 400,000 worldwide. Many of these infections cause an inflammation of the throat, or what most of us call strep throat.
In addition to causing strep, Group A streptococcus causes rheumatic fever and the life-endangering “flesh-eating” syndrome called necrotizing fasciitis.
Creating a vaccine has been difficult because the antigen – the section of the bacteria that is easily identified by the immune system – is the most dangerous part of the bacteria, according to the
However, researchers were able to create a version of the protein that can make the immune system stronger, without the dangerous consequences.
The study was published in the March 7 issue of Science. Click here to read the abstract.