LONDON - There's some good news for toddlers as scientists revealed that a new vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline Plc could help reduce the rate of middle ear infections in children. It was found that the vaccine reduced the incidence of middle ear infection or otitis media by 30 percent, according to researchers at the University of Defense in Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic.
Reporting in the latest issue of the medical journal The Lancet, the reserachers said that the vaccine called Streptorix was tested on almost 5,000 infants, who were administered three doses before 15-months of life or were given hepatitis A vaccine as a control, "We found a reduction in ear, nose and throat specialist-confirmed episodes of acute otitis media by about a third in infants in the vaccine group compared with controls," said Dr Roman Prymula, the lead reserachers in the trial. "This study showed a statistically significant and clinically relevant reduction in episodes of acute otitis media."
Middle ear infection usually follows episodes of common cold and typically presents as fever, pain and in extreme cases loss of hearing. Administering a dose of antibiotics usually treats this infection. The new vaccine was found to be effective against streptococcus pneumoniae and haemophilus influenzae, both bacteria, which are commonly implicated in ear infections. However experts have voiced concern about vaccinating children for what is usually a mild condition.
"The suggestion here is giving a vaccination against something that isn't a life-threatening condition," said Antony Tucker, an ENT surgeon at Bradford Royal Infirmary was quoted as telling BBC. "In addition, only a proportion of ear infections are caused by bacteria, and only some of those by these bacteria."
