Many people dread the thought of being exposed to a bacteria. However, a team of volunteers have willingly exposed themselves to the whooping cough bacteria. Scientists hope that this will help them develop a better vaccine in the future.
Thirty-four people in the United Kindgom had the whooping cough bacteria put under their nose. All of the adults in the study were healthy. The virus was also administered in a safe and controlled environment. None of the subjects in the study got sick from the bacteria. In fact, most of them did not have any symptoms.
The subjects were exposed to enough of the bacteria to get infected. They were not exposed to an amount that would make them very ill. Dr. Hans de Graaf was the lead author of the study. He stated that they did not want to make the subjects sick. He also stated that if the subjects showed any symptoms, then they were given antibiotics immediately.
Whooping cough is a respiratory illness that is caused by the Bordetella pertussis vaccine. It can be deadly in infants and people with weak immune systems. It can also cause violent coughing fits, which can lead to broken ribs.
There is a vaccine available for whooping cough. However, the number of people developing it is still on the rise. This rise has been attributed to ineffective vaccines. Scientists have to know how the immune system responds to the vaccine, which will allow them to develop one that is more effective.
The subjects in the study were between the ages of 18 and 45. None of them had been vaccinated for whooping cough recently. Scientists still have to do a lot more research in order to develop a new vaccine. They plan on vaccinating subjects in the future and then testing their response to the bacteria.
