成人大片

Researchers at The 成人大片 have found that the meningococcal B vaccine could improve protection against gonorrhoea in addition to protection against meningococcal B meningitis.聽

This significant finding, in a joint study with the Women鈥檚 and Children鈥檚 Hospital, coincides with a rise in gonorrhoea cases globally and increasing bacterial resistance to drugs used to treat the infection.

Led by 2022 South Australian of the Year, 成人大片 Professor of Vaccinology, and Women鈥檚 and Children鈥檚 Hospital Senior Medical Practitioner Helen Marshall AM, the observational study found that two doses of the meningococcal B vaccine were 33 per cent effective against gonorrhoea in adolescents and young adults.

Professor Marshall said the research aims to reduce not only gonorrhoea infection, but also the long-term effects of gonorrhoea, including infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and blindness in babies born to infected mothers.

鈥淲ith more than 106 million cases of gonorrhoea worldwide, and increasing at a rapid rate... it is vital that we explore new and improved measures to battle this infection."Professor Helen Marshall AM

鈥淲ith more than 106 million cases of gonorrhoea worldwide, and increasing at a rapid rate, the issue is firmly on the World Health Organisation鈥檚 agenda,鈥� Professor Marshall said.

鈥淭his research will feed into WHO鈥檚 vaccine roadmap to evaluate the evidence about the ability of vaccines to prevent gonorrhoea. Traditionally, treatment for gonorrhoea has relied on antibiotics, but as these have become increasingly less effective due to antibiotic resistant strains, it is vital that we explore new and improved measures to battle this infection.

鈥淚n South Australia, where we have a state-funded meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine program for infants, children and adolescents since 2019, we have been able to observe that its effectiveness against gonorrhoea in adolescents is about 33 per cent. Two years after introduction of the state-funded MenB vaccine program, we are already observing high effectiveness against meningococcal B disease and also moderate effectiveness in preventing gonorrhoea.

鈥淭he unprecedented scale of South Australia鈥檚 MenB vaccination programme offers valuable real-world evidence of the vaccine鈥檚 effectiveness against meningococcal B meningitis in children and adolescents, and gonorrhoea in adolescents and young people. This information is vital to inform global meningitis vaccination programmes and policy decisions.鈥�

Left unchecked, gonorrhoea can spread to the blood and cause disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI). DGI is usually characterised by arthritis, tenosynovitis, and/or dermatitis聽and, ultimately, the condition can be life threatening. Professor Marshall鈥檚 research has been published in journal.