Childhood asthma is a global problem and is particularly common in countries like Australia.
Despite this, there are currently no effective trial-based interventions to prevent the development of preschool wheeze and/or asthma. Episodes of viral-triggered wheeze are common in young children but most are resolved by school age, unlike later childhood asthma. Infants hospitalised with bronchiolitis are at much higher risk of developing preschool wheeze which will then continue as school-age asthma. In Australia, around 13,000 infants are hospitalised with bronchiolitis yearly.
To help solve this issue, Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies) is taking part in an international research project, Bacterial Lysate in Preventing Asthma (BLIPA). The longer name is the oral bacterial lysate to prevent persistent wheeze in infants after severe bronchiolitis; a randomised placebo-controlled trial. The study aims to determine whether infants aged between 2-weeks-old and 12-months-old admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis are at an increased risk of developing wheeze and being diagnosed with asthma. Preventing the development of wheeze in preschool children would have major health benefits, but until now no prevention therapies have been effective.
Broncho Vaxom is a capsule of inactive microbes/bacteria (bacterial lysates) that stimulate the immune system. This study is looking at whether giving Broncho Vaxom for 10 days each month for 24 months could stop the progression of recurrent wheezing and asthma. This may increase the body’s natural defenses and prevent the development of wheeze and/or asthma.
Menzies investigator Dr Gabrielle McCallum said researchers hope to find out some of the ways Broncho Vaxom affects the immune system by looking at cells in the blood and saliva, and bacteria in the nose and stool.
“Preschool wheeze and asthma in children are a major cause of global morbidity with substantial health costs,” she said.
“If Broncho Vaxom is effective, our study will have profound implications on preventing childhood wheeze and asthma.”
The Medical Research Future Fund underwritten trial is being lead by Queensland University of Technology Honorary Professor and Menzies’s Child Health division lead, Professor Anne Chang AM, a world leading paediatric respiratory physician, in Australia. Professor Chang is completing this work alongside Professor Johnathan Griggs in the United Kingdom. Work at sites across Australia including Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, and the Gold Coast began in late 2021.
In Darwin, enrolments began in late 2022, with the research team aiming to enrol just under 780 children overall. Menzies researchers including Professor Peter Morris, Professor Stephanie Yerkovich and Associate Professor Robyn Marsh have been taking part in the trial. Recruitment is due to be completed by the end of 2024.
To read more about the work Menzies is doing to support respiratory health in children and young people, head to our website: Lungs - Menzies