Dual-use vaccine
Vaccination against meningitis was also effective against gonorrhea
Anna Kerman, XX2 century, based on the materials of Medical Xpress: One step closer to a gonorrhoea vaccine?
A vaccine that protects against bacterial meningitis can reduce the risk of infection with gonococcus, the bacterium that causes gonorrhea. Scientists report that this is the first case of its kind of vaccination that prevents infection with gonorrhea.
To date, there are only two ways to protect against this sexually transmitted infection: refusing sex and using condoms. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80 million new cases of gonorrhea infection are registered annually in the world. At the same time, gonococci are becoming more resistant to antibiotics. We have already written that three supposedly independent cases of infection with gonococcus resistant to all known antibacterial agents have been registered in three different countries of the world. Thus, gonorrhea is gradually becoming an increasingly serious threat to public health.
In the absence of adequate treatment, gonorrhea can cause inflammation of the pelvic organs in women and lead to infertility in both sexes. If the infection is present in the body during pregnancy, it can lead to the development of blindness in the unborn child.
Gonorrhea spreads easily because many people are unaware of the presence of the disease and unwittingly transmit the infection to sexual partners.
In a new study published in the Lancet, it is reported that scientists analyzed the frequency of detection of gonorrhea in New Zealand patients who were vaccinated against meningococcal infection type B in the period from 2004 to 2006.
Although meningitis and gonorrhea differ significantly in symptoms, from the point of view of genetics, the bacteria that cause these diseases are similar. Doctors have recently noticed that gonorrhea is less common in people who have been vaccinated against meningococcal infection. To find out whether the meningitis vaccination is really able to protect against gonorrhea, it was decided to conduct a special study.
Scientists analyzed the available epidemiological data and found that among the vaccinated, the incidence of gonorrhea infection decreased by 31%, that is, by almost a third.
"This is the first vaccine that has, in principle, demonstrated its effectiveness in terms of protection against gonorrhea," says study co–author Helen Petousis-Harris from the University of Auckland.
Exactly how the immune system of vaccinated people reacts to gonorrhea is unknown. In addition, the vaccine, which turned out to be able to protect against gonorrhea, is no longer used – it was used during the fight against a specific outbreak of the disease.
However, the same molecules are also included in other vaccines for protection against meningial infection, which are still used today.
According to scientists, additional studies are now critically important to determine exactly how the meningococcal vaccine prevents infection with gonococcus. In the context of growing antibiotic resistance, this is especially relevant.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
11.07.2017