Collaboration on a public health-driven vaccine initiative

Disease surveillance can be used as an opportunity to determine priorities for research and the development of new therapeutics. This is evident in the work underway to develop a new vaccine to combat a serious invasive childhood disease: Haemophilus influenzae serotype a (Hia). Following the introduction of Hib vaccine into the routine childhood immunization schedule in Canada in the early 1990's, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) began to document the dropping rates of H influenzae serotype b (Hib) infection. However, invasive H. influenzae diseases due to non-Hib strains began to increase and in 2007, surveillance for invasive H. influenzae disease due to all serotypes as well as non-typeable strains was initiated. Current data suggests Hia is a cause of serious invasive disease, particularly in Aboriginal populations. Similar to Hib, Hia causes severe illnesses such as meningitis, sepsis and bacteremic pneumonia in young children under the age of five. Given the emerging threat due to Hia in Aboriginal populations in Canada, PHAC formed a partnership with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to investigate the potential of creating a capsular polysaccharide vaccine against Hia. At the present time, candidate vaccine seed strains have been identified and PHAC and the NRC are working with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others. The goal of this research is to identify and prepare a candidate vaccine against Hia while increasing the understanding of how such a vaccine would improve the health of a vulnerable population.