Background
Influenza is a respiratory infection that continues to present a major threat to human health with ~ 500,000 deaths/year. Continued circulation of epidemic subtypes in humans and animals potentially increases the risk of future pandemics. Vaccination has failed to halt the evolution of this virus and additional "universal" prophylactic approaches should be considered. Naked, "heat inactivated", or inert, bacterial spores have been shown to protect against influenza in murine models.
Methods
Ferrets were administered intranasal doses of inert bacterial spores (DSM 32444K). Seven days after the last dose animals were challenged with H7N9. Clinical signs of infection and viral shedding were monitored.
Results
Clinical symptoms of infection were significantly reduced in animals dosed with DSM 32444K. The temporal kinetics of viral shedding were reduced but not abolished,
Conclusion
Taken together nasal dosing using heat-stable spores could provide a simple, cost-effective approach for influenza prophylaxis in both humans and animals.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.