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July 20, 2001

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Scientists Unlock Secrets of Killer Strep Bacterium: Genetic

Mapping ‘A Big Boost’ Toward Creating Vaccine”

Ottawa Citizen (www.ottawacitizen.com) (07/20/01) P. A12; Dunham, Will

After five years of research, the Institute of Genomic Research in Rockville, Md., has sequenced a virulent strain of pneumococcus, one that was collected from a 30-year-old Norwegian patient and contains 2,236 different genes.  The sequencing will help scientists find new drug targets and vaccine candidates, says the project’s principle investigator Herve Tettelin.  Researchers developing a vaccine against streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus, will focus on the 10 percent of the genes that the virus uses to break down carbohydrates and other biological membranes to escape the body’s natural defenses.  Currently, none of the vaccines available can protect people against all 92 strains of pneumococcus that infect humans.

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