Emory University researchers need volunteers to test their new experimental vaccine against Shigella, the main cause of dysentery.
The most common symptoms of this intestinal tract bacteria include pains abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea with mucus and sometimes blood in the stool It is fever.
Most cases go away on their own if you just drink plenty of fluids and rest. Although rare, the bacteria can cause serious and even fatal complications, especially in people with weakened or underdeveloped immune systems, such as children.
although the dysentery is not as dangerous as it once was, it remains a major threat to public health, particularly in parts of the world that lack sanitation and medical care.
Shigella It is the leading cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide and the second leading cause of diarrhea-related deaths, accounting for 200,000 deaths per year, according to data from the World Health Organization.
In recent years, there has been an increase in strains of Shigella resistant to antibiotics. This led scientists at Emory University, in the United States, to try to develop a vaccine.
The second phase of clinical trials began in October last year, although researchers are still recruiting participants. Wanted 120 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 49 years oldno known history of Shigella or irritable bowel syndrome.
Volunteers will be deliberately exposed to the bacteria and the possibility of illness. In contrast, researchers pay 4,250 dollars for participating in the study, which lasts for eight months.
According to the website Gizmodo, volunteers will be randomly divided into three groups. One group will drink two shots of the vaccine; another will drink a shot and a placebo; and the third just drinks placebo.
Afterwards, all three groups drink a drink containing the bacteria. Participants will be admitted to a hospital for a maximum of 11 days so that they can be monitored. Finally, they will have to be available for up to 14 study appointments and one phone call.
Vaccine under development uses a weakened version of the bacteria Shigella, what is taken orally.
According to data from registration As part of the study, testing will be performed at the Hope Clinic at Emory University in Georgia and at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio.
ZAP // 
