VaccineX Publication “Could a Shigella vaccine impact long-term health outcomes?”

A press release created by Dr. Claudio Lanata, senior researcher at the IIN.

Diarrhea is caused by Shigella bacteria and its biotypes have been recognized as an important cause of diarrhea, in general, as well as the condition known as dysentery, when the bacteria invade the tissues of the colon producing diarrhea with mucus and blood. In the past, some types of Shigella have been the cause of major epidemic outbreaks. And lately, an increase in antibiotic resistance of the bacteria is being observed, generating fear of the emergence of a multi-resistant strain that causes an epidemic or pandemic.

This article presents a summary of a meeting of experts convened by PATH, from Seattle, US, to review the evidence and issue recommendations on whether a Shigella vaccine could have, in addition to preventing diarrhea and dysentery caused by this bacterium, an impact on the growth of infected children, which usually occurs in crowded places in developing countries. The report concludes that there is evidence between infections (with or without symptoms) by Shigella and the loss of the child's growth rate, particularly generating low height for his age. And the panel concluded that a vaccine, introduced only in endemic areas, initially, or across an entire country, should improve children's growth velocity. The panel also recommended that research evaluating nutritional impact be done when evaluating the safety and efficacy of a Shigella vaccine currently in development.

Read the complete article here