Soon, a vaccine against streptococcus A that causes sore throat, scarlet fever

Streptococcus A causes the death of half a million people worldwide, a vaccine is being prepared

Global Type A streptococcal vaccine search narrowed after researchers sequenced more than 2000 DNA Streptococcus samples from around the world.

Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge, the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) in Australia, and the University of Queensland, Australia, revealed the differences between strains. from more than 20 countries and identified a potential target vaccine present on most strains.

Released today in Nature Genetics, the 10-year project has revealed that certain molecular targets present in bacterial strains from 20 countries, including the UK, Australia, and India, indicate the possibility to develop an effective global vaccine against Strep A.

group A Streptococcus The bacterium, commonly known as Strep A, is one of the top 10 causes of death from infectious diseases in the world. It is estimated that this disease would cause more than half a million deaths annually *, mostly in low-income areas of the world. It can cause many different infections, ranging from the streptococcal throat, widespread in developed countries, to scarlet fever and rheumatic heart disease, which are constantly present and considered endemic in low-income regions of the world.

group A Streptococcus The bacterium, commonly known as Strep A, is one of the top 10 causes of death from infectious diseases in the world. It is estimated that this disease would cause more than half a million deaths annually *, mostly in low-income areas of the world. It can cause many infections, ranging from strep throat to scarlet fever and rheumatic heart disease.

There is still no effective vaccine against streptococcus A and the variety of strains of streptococci prevents the search for a vaccine. Until now, most of the information came from high-income regions such as the United Kingdom and the United States. However, very little is known about Strep A in low-income areas of the world where it poses the most problems. This means that current vaccine candidates may not be effective in all areas.

To remedy this, the researchers collected more than 2,000 streptococcus A samples from 22 countries around the world, including countries in Africa and the Pacific, indigenous communities in New Zealand, and Australia. By sequencing and badyzing the DNA of each sample, they were able to determine the genes present in each strain and see their variety around the world.

The project has shown that the main current vaccine candidates for streptococcus A would have limited coverage in low-income areas where streptococcus A is endemic and where the vaccine is most needed.

Dr. Mark Davies, lead author of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the Doherty Institute of the University of Melbourne, said, "With the help of large-scale genomic sequencing, we have identified the 39 existence of more than 290 genetically different Strep A lineages, of clinical significance, highlighting the challenges of conception. an effective global vaccine. However, using all the data we collected, we restricted common genes in almost all Strep A strains in the world. This is a great step forward in identifying what could work as a candidate for the global vaccine. "

Gordon Dougan, author of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge, said, "Millions of people around the world are affected by Streptococcus A. It can cause a variety of ailments, including sore throats and epidemics. of scarlet fever in the United Kingdom. , to infections leading to rheumatic heart disease in populations such as the Australian aboriginal population. In addition to helping with research on a vaccine, the genomic data from our study will help researchers understand how Streptococcus A causes disease and why it is different from high-income regions of endemic regions. "

Professor Mark Walker, lead author of the journal and director of the Australian Center for Infectious Disease Research, University of Queensland, said: "This research could potentially enable rapid detection of the long-awaited streptococcal A vaccine. by both the developers and the scientific community We can now use our database to identify the most common genes as vaccine targets. I think that a global vaccine is possible and that the results of this research, in addition to increased funding commitments, will boost the momentum for the search for a global vaccine. "