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Otitis media (OM), or middle ear infection, is one of the most common childhood illnesses globally. In Australia, OM remains a leading cause of antibiotic prescriptions in children, despite growing awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the need for stewardship. Preventing OM not only reduces the burden of disease but also plays a critical role in curbing unnecessary antibiotic use and slowing the rise of AMR.

Two projects led by The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded more than $2.5 million to fund innovative ideas focused, respectively, on combating persistent ear infections and investigating how dangerous fungi invade the bodies of immunocompromised people.

Small volume assays are required for large-scale research studies and in particular paediatric trials, where multiple measures are required from a single sample. Fluorescent bead-based technology (Bioplex/Luminex) allows high through-put and simultaneous quantification of multiple analytes in a single test. This technology uses sets of microspheres, each with a unique spectral address that can be coated with a different antigen of interest.

A birth acellular pertussis vaccine may be a valuable alternative for immunity against infant pertussis when a pregnancy pertussis vaccine has not been administered. We assessed whether a birth dose may impair immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses to childhood pertussis boosters.

Peter Ruth Elke Richmond Thornton Seppanen MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP PhD BSc PhD Head, Vaccine Trials Group Co-head, Bacterial Respiratory Infectious

Strep A causes over 775 million infections each year world-wide, including over 615 million cases of tonsil infection (Strep throat).

Ruth Elke Peter Thornton Seppanen Richmond PhD BSc PhD MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP Co-head, Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG) Program

We assessed the impact of maternally derived pertussis antibodies on infant responses to a 2 + 1 vaccine schedule (6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 12 months). Infants with baseline antibodies showed lower IgG responses following the primary vaccination series, but this did not impair booster responses at 4 years of age.

Dr Tom Snelling from The Kids explains the top five things you should know about the virus and why having the measles vaccine is so important.

Children at risk of potentially life-threatening Strep A infections no longer have to wait five days for timely treatment, thanks to a The Kids Research Institute Australia study conducted in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.