A new vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Iowa in Iowa City protects patients against lethal pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and drug-resistant Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, according to a news release from the University of Iowa.
Researchers using an animal model found vaccination against three staph toxins almost completely protect against staph infections. Additionally, after introducing the vaccine, disease-causing bacteria were completely eliminated from the animal’s lungs.
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Previous attempts to target staph vaccines have focused on the cell-surface proteins on bacteria instead of staph toxins, according to the report. Researchers found vaccines focused on cell-surface proteins tend to increase the severity of the infection while the newly developed vaccine that targets staph toxins almost completely protects against staph infections.
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