VOICES - Vaccines to prevent Otitis media In Children Entering School

Aim: 

• To determine the best vaccination strategy for early interventions that improve school readiness of Indigenous children and others at high risk of otitis media and hearing loss throughout the first 3 years of life.

Objectives:

Educational and health outcomes of Indigenous children are extremely poor, particularly in remote areas. High rates of ear disease, particularly 'runny ears' and 'glue ear', and hearing loss throughout early childhood contribute to developmental delay. Vaccines to prevent ear disease could be used more effectively.  This project is evaluating a novel combination schedule of two different licenced vaccine formulations to maximise protection and improve ear health, hearing, and school readiness.

Chief Investigator:

• Professor Amanda Leach

Project Manager:

• Nicole Wilson

Contact Information:

• Nicole Wilson

Funders:

• National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

• Recommendations for clinical care guidelines on the management of otitis media in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations
• Centre for Research Excellence in Ear and Hearing Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children (CRE_ICHEAR)
• The Ear Disease Poster

1. Leach AJ, Wigger C, Beissbarth J, Woltring D, Andrews R, Chatfield MD, Smith-Vaughan H, Morris PS (2016) General health, otitis media, nasopharyngeal carriage and middle ear microbiology in Northern Territory Aboriginal children vaccinated during consecutive periods of 10-valent or 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol, 86:224-232.
2. Leach AJ, Mulholland EK, Santosham M, Torzillo PJ, Brown NJ, McIntyre P, Smith-Vaughan H, Skull S, Balloch A, Andrews R et al (2015) Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines PREVenar13 and SynflorIX in sequence or alone in high-risk Indigenous infants (PREV-IX_COMBO): protocol of a randomised controlled trial. BMJ open, 5(1):e007247.
3. Leach AJ, Wigger C, Hare K, Hampton V, Beissbarth J, Andrews R, Chatfield M, Smith-Vaughan H, Morris PS (2015) Reduced middle ear infection with non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae, but not Streptococcus pneumoniae, after transition to 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable H. influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine. BMC Pediatr, 15(1):162.