Orem clinic conducting RSV vaccine trial

OREM — As soon as the disposable bib had been fastened around his neck, 18-month-old Ethan Elmer started squirming in his father's lap. Next came the nasal bulb and the tears.

Saline solution was squirted up one of the boy's nostrils and collected by a medical professional as it dripped back out.

For his trouble, Ethan received a green sucker, which proved to be a cure for his tears, as well as a free medical examination.

Ethan's father, Brandon Elmer, was compensated for his time and travel, and he left Aspen Clinical Research, he said, satisfied that his children and others soon may be protected from a common respiratory illness.

Aspen is participating in an international clinical trial with an intranasal vaccination for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, as well as the parainfluenza virus (PIV3).

For nearly five months, the Orem clinic has been conducting the trial in children between 6 months and 23 months old. Early next year, the trials will be extended to children ages 2 months to 6 months — the age group at greatest risk of RSV.

"This is a tremendous issue with public health," said Dr. Michael Harris, chief medical officer at Aspen Clinical Research. "For children between the ages of 2 months and 6 months, it's the greatest viral threat to their health and can be potentially fatal."

Between 75,000 and 125,000 children 1 year old or younger are hospitalized each year due to RSV infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly all children are infected with the virus by their second birthday, and a small percentage develop serious illness.

In late February this year, about 170 children tested positive for RSV at Primary Children's Medical Center in a one-week period, said hospital spokeswoman Bonnie Midget.

RSV cases are starting to trickle in this winter, Midget said, though the numbers typically peak in late January or early February.

Most children infected with RSV do not need to be hospitalized, but those who do can become very ill in a period of just a few days.

"RSV is a very, very concerning illness, Harris said. "Within the course of several days, it will take them from normal and healthy to in the hospital fighting for their lives."

Currently there are no RSV vaccinations available for healthy children, he said. That could change in the next two to three years, depending on the outcome of clinical trials.

"To be able to have an impact on that type of a condition is very exciting," Harris said.

Those involved in developing and testing the vaccine expect it to be considered as a necessary vaccination, along the same lines as those for chicken pox or measles.

Harris said the RSV vaccination creates antibodies that recognize when the body has been exposed to respiratory syncytial virus or parainfluenza virus so it can mount an effective resistance to it.

"By receiving this vaccination, it elicits an immune response to allow your body to say, 'If this threat comes again, we recognize that threat and we're going to be prepared to defend against it,'" he said.

Parents of children ages 2 months to 6 months can receive more information about the clinical trials by calling 801-356-555. Aspen Clinical Research is at 1215 S. 1680 West, Orem.

Quick facts about respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

• It is a contagious viral disease that may infect a person's lungs and breathing passages.
• Almost everyone gets RSV by age 2.
• People can get the disease more than once.
• Most people recover from the disease in a week or two, but RSV can be severe, most commonly for children 6 months of age and younger and for older adults. Premature infants or those with lung or heart problems are especially at risk for serious disease.
• The number of RSV cases typically rise in the fall, peak in the winter and decline in early spring, but the exact timing of RSV season varies by location.

Compiled with contributions fromJared Page, and Carole Mikita

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