Paediatricians at St George’s appeal for local families to take part in study of new vaccines to protect children from swine flu

Paediatricians at St George’s appeal for local families to take part in study of new vaccines to protect children from swine flu

28 September 2009

Paediatricians at St George’s, University of London are researching which of the two swine flu vaccinations due to be used in the UK this winter is most effective in protecting children from the virus and are appealing for 250 children to take part in this study.

The study will enrol children aged six months to 12 years from the end of September. The investigation is being conducted by St George’s, University of London’s Vaccine Institute in collaboration with the University of Oxford, the Health Protection Agency, Bristol’s Children’s Vaccine Centre, the University of Southampton Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility and Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust.

By conducting this study, the researchers hope to determine if one of the vaccines is better tolerated or more likely to protect against swine flu in this age group than the other. The overall aim is to help the Department of Health provide the most effective protection against swine flu.

The study is being led in South London by St George’s specialist in paediatric infectious disease Dr Paul Heath, who emphasised its importance, saying: “Children are one of the age groups most vulnerable to swine flu infection, so it is vital that we obtain information on their response to these vaccines. This study will help in decisions about which vaccine will be best for protecting children.”

Millions of doses of two swine flu vaccines have been purchased for use in the UK by the Department of Health to protect the public and control the expected outbreak this autumn and winter. However information about their use in children is limited.

Children who are in at-risk groups will be prioritised for vaccination, which is why it is important to know which of the vaccines offers the best protection.

The study is being funded by the National Institute for Health Research and has been adopted by the Medicines for Children Research Network.

Children who take part in the study would receive two doses of a swine flu vaccine three weeks apart at the St George’s Vaccine Institute, Bedford Hill Family Practice or in two local primary schools. A blood test would be taken (using a local anaesthetic cream) before and after the immunisation course to check their response to the vaccines.

Parents interested in enrolling their child in this study should visit www.swineflutrial.org website for further information.

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Notes to editors:

• The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility.  The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training.  Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. http://www.nihr.ac.uk/

• Full project details can be found on the National Institute for Health Research’s website at: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=960

• The St George's Vaccine Institute is an independent, non-commercial, academic institution, which is part of St George’s, University of London. It opened in 1996 as a combined clinical, scientific and educational facility.  The Institute predominantly focuses on protecting against paediatric infections as well as diseases of poverty that afflict populations in under-developed and resource-poor areas. It conducts human clinical trials of paediatric vaccines and of vaccines against infectious diseases plaguing some of the most underprivileged members of the world community.