International effort to vaccinate 250 in Burkina Faso typhoid conjugate vaccine study

The Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) at the Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Groupe de Recherche Action en Santé (GRAS) are launching a vaccine study in Burkina Faso, focused on a typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV).

The study represents their second effort in the area and will see 250 participants vaccinated against the endemic disease. It is an effort conducted as part of the Typhoid Vaccine Acceleration Consortium — an international organization looking to advance such protections in typhoid-endemic areas. A Bharat Biotech TCV is considered the most effective in protecting against typhoid for its long-lasting protection and capabilities among the young, making it an ideal focus for the study.

“This is an important collaboration with our partners in Burkina Faso to test this vaccine in the West African setting,” Kathleen Neuzil, UMSOM professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, director of the CVD, and TyVAC principal investigator, said. “Millions of children are set to be better protected from typhoid fever through the broader global efforts to accelerate the use of the vaccine in conjunction with improving water, sanitation, and hygiene.”

The vaccine’s efficacy will be studied in Burkinabe children so scientists can see how their immune systems respond when paired with other vaccines — an aspect of the drug not yet studied. The drug, however, has been pre-qualified by the World Health Organization and is supported by an $85 million fund from the vaccine alliance GAVI.