Lumen Autumn 2017 - Flipbook - Page 29
story by Kelly Brown
T
he initiative could lead to
vaccination programs throughout
Australia and overseas to stamp out
the crippling disease which can result in
limb amputations, brain injuries and death.
There are six strains of the
meningococcus bacteria but in Australia,
over past decades, most cases have
involved either the B or C strains. More
recently nationally there has been an
increase in the W strain. While there is a
national immunisation program in place
to vaccinate against meningococcal
C disease, the cost-effectiveness
of a program for the B strain is still
under review.
The new statewide study led by the
University’s Robinson Research Institute,
known as B Part of It, could hold the key.
The program is being run in
partnership with SA Health and has
been approved by the Women’s and
Children’s Health Network Human
Research Ethics Committee.
It involves providing the
licensed Meningococcal B
vaccine free to about 45,000
adolescents enrolled in
Years 10, 11 and 12 in
schools across South
Australia. This will help
determine the impact
of immunising large
community groups
against the disease.
Professor Helen Marshall, Deputy
Director of the Robinson Research
Institute and Director of the Vaccinology
and Immunology Research Trials Unit at
the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, says
the study is believed to be the first of its
kind and the rest of the world is eagerly
awaiting the outcome.
“The size of the study, and the fact
that many countries will use the data to
determine whether they will implement a
MenB vaccine, makes it an exciting study
to be part of,” she says.
Teenage children have been chosen
because they have a high rate of carriage
and transmission of the bug that causes
meningococcal infection.
The meningococcus bug is carried in
the throat of adolescents with up to 20-25
per cent carrying the bacteria.
“Most of the bugs are the harmless
strains but some of them are
hypervirulent,” says Helen.
“What is difficult for us to know, is who
is carrying which strain type, therefore
having an immunisation program where
you can reduce the carriage overall should
reduce the risk of transmitting those
hypervirulent strains.
What the study also aims to prove is
whether the MenB vaccine has a herd
immunity benefit similar to what was seen
with the MenC vaccine.
“Herd immunity is when a significant
portion of a population is immunised
against a disease, preventing its
transmission from one person to another
and protecting those who are not
immune,” says Helen.
“I think a lot of people understand that
if we get vaccinated we are protecting
ourselves, but actually the herd immunity
impact is a much more powerful
protective effect, as we saw with the
MenC vaccine.
“It is given to one-year-olds but has
actually reduced the disease in all
age groups. The C strain has almost
disappeared in Australia and this can only
be happening because we are reducing
the transmission of the bug.”
This is one of the key pieces of
information that Australia’s Pharmaceutical
Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC)
is seeking to help determine if the
MenB vaccine is suitable for an
immunisation program.
“If a herd immunity benefit is proven, it
would mean that the protection would be
extended to others in the community by
significantly reducing the transmission of
the bug and therefore occurrence of the
disease. This would make it a more costeffective solution,” says Helen.
The researchers have been encouraged
by the response of the South Australian
community in support of the study.
“It really has been a whole-of-state
approach. We are working closely with
local government to deliver the program
through immunisation nurses who deliver
immunisations in schools and who will
do the study throat swabs and the
vaccinations,” she says.
“We have a very strong partnership with
SA Health and SA Pathology is doing all
of the microbiology work.
“Working with the schools has been
great and the Department of Education
and Child Development, Independent
Schools Association and Catholic
Education have been very encouraging
and supportive of schools’ participation.
“We have 236 schools that have agreed
to participate – we’ve even had a couple
of schools ring up just to make sure that
they are still on our list.”
To find out more about the B Part of It
study visit www.bpartofit.com.au
Professor Helen Marshall is an alumna and a medical clinician researcher with
specialist training in paediatrics, vaccinology and public health. She completed a
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, Doctorate of Medicine, Master in Public Health
and Diploma in Child Health at the University of Adelaide and the international
Advanced Vaccinology Course at the Pasteur Merieux Institute, France.
Professor Helen Marshall
Her passion in children’s health and vaccinology stems from time spent during her
medical degree on a paediatric ward in a hospital in Western Samoa where she saw
firsthand the devastating effects of infectious diseases in a country low on medical
resources. This inspired her to move into paediatrics, which led to an opportunity to
work on clinical trials with vaccines to protect children against serious infections.
Photo by Russell Millard
The University of Adelaide | Alumni Magazine 27
