London: A potential vaccine against diarrhea has been proven safe and effective in an early stage clinical trial carried out in Bangladesh, scientists say. The study studied the safety and effectiveness of an oral, inactivated vaccine candidate — ETVAX — against toxin-producing E. coli bacteria which caused diarrhea. The scientists selected 450 infants and children in Bangladesh between six months to five years of age as participants for the study. The vaccine used in the study consisted of inactivated E. coli bacteria expressing high levels of proteins that triggered the immune reaction, and a subunit protein called ‘LCTBA’.
The study noted that 80-100 per cent of the children between two and five years of age, and 50-80 per cent of infants between six and eleven months of age responded to all key immunity generating components of the vaccine. The vaccine along with the adjuvant enhanced the magnitude, breadth, and kinetics of the intestinal immune responses in infants.
—PTI
