A Study of Intranasal Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine Immunogenicity and Associations With the Nasopharyngeal Microbiome Among Children in the Gambia

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2019-05-23

Summary

The live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) is made up of weakened influenza viruses given into the nose and in early studies was shown to be better than the standard influenza vaccine at preventing infections in children. However, more recently, it has performed less well and it may also work less well in Sub-Saharan Africa. Not only do the investigators not know why this is, but the investigators also do not fully understand why LAIV produces stronger nasal antibody responses in some individuals but not others. Usually harmless bacteria that are present in participants noses can influence how our immune system works and variations in these may explain differences in how LAIV works. The project will recruit children given LAIV in the Gambia to gain further understanding of these issues.

The investigators will measure a variety of responses to LAIV, including genes that can change their expression early after vaccination and use advanced computational techniques to identify new relationships between these genes and other LAIV responses. The investigators will also see whether nasal bacterial profiles in children who respond to LAIV are different from those who do not. In addition, the investigators will alter these bacteria in a subset of children with antibiotics and see whether this affects both nasal gene expression and later responses to LAIV.

• Phase: Phase 4

Details

• Lead Sponsor: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia
• Collaborators: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM); Public Health England; University of Edinburgh; University of Oxford
• Treatments: Azithromycin; Vaccines