Pregnant women in Bristol first to participate in RSV vaccine study

Pregnant women in Bristol are among the first in the world to take part in a clinical trial of an investigational vaccine that could protect babies against RSV disease.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes infections in the lungs and breathing passages, and affects nearly all infants by the age of two.

The virus is capable of infecting all ages, but often in adults and older children it only causes mild cold-like symptoms. However, in younger babies and older adults, RSV can lead to life-threatening lung infections such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia, and could lead to death.

In babies, RSV causes around 30 deaths a year in the UK, and has even greater mortality in lower income countries.

During winter the virus causes epidemics responsible for up to one in six hospital admissions in children less than a year old every year and can longterm lead to the development of asthma.

Doctors at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust are now offering women receiving antenatal care at St Michael’s Hospital the chance to participate in a trial with this RSV vaccine designed to generate antibodies in the mother’s blood which will hopefully protect the babies for a minimum of three months.

The trial is being funded by Novavax Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in the United States, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Adam Finn, consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, said: “RSV is the leading cause of hospitalisation in young children and globally millions of children are affected by RSV every year.

“An effective vaccine could prevent thousands of babies a year having to be admitted to hospital in the UK and around the world and has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives.

“This is the first time in 50 years of research that a potential RSV vaccine has been developed for use in pregnancy to prevent RSV disease right from birth, so we are very excited to be part of such an exciting international study.”