Investigators: Anthony Kicic, Janessa Pickering, Jessica Daw, Ruth Thornton, Tim Barnett
External collaborators: Dr Mitsumasa Saito (Kyusha University)
Strep A causes over 775 million infections each year world-wide, including over 615 million cases of tonsil infection (Strep throat). It can precede several serious diseases, most notably the autoimmune disease Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF). Each year in Australia, 320,000 GP visits are for Strep throat. These numbers are likely an under-estimate as Strep throat is under-reported in Aboriginal populations and likely contributes to the high rates of ARF in some populations.
Strep A is the only sore throat pathogen for which antibiotics may be required, but around 10% of Strep throat cases fail penicillin treatment. An effective Strep A vaccine would remove the need for antibiotics to be considered for sore throat treatment, and reduce the incidence of severe Strep A infections. For these reasons, Strep A vaccine development forms part of Australia’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and is also a World Health Organization priority. A detailed understanding of how Strep A infects the tonsils is required for Strep A vaccine design, and may also allow targeted use of broad-spectrum antibiotics if we can predict which infections will recur following penicillin treatment.