Norovirus vaccine against experimental human GII.4 virus illness: a challenge study in healthy adults.
2015 Mar 15
Journal Article
Authors:
Bernstein, D.I.;
Atmar, R.L.;
Lyon, M.;
Treanor, J.J.;
Chen, W.H.;
Jiang, X.;
Vinjé, J.;
Gregoricus, N.;
Frenck, R.W.;
Moe, C.L.;
Al-Ibrahim, M.S.;
Barrett, J.;
Ferreira, J.;
Estes, M.K.;
Graham, D.Y.;
Goodwin, R.;
Borkowski, A.;
Clemens, R.;
Mendelman, P.M.
Secondary:
J Infect Dis
Volume:
211
Pagination:
870-8
Issue:
6
PMID:
25210140
Keywords:
Adjuvants, Immunologic; Adolescent; Adult; Caliciviridae Infections; Double-Blind Method; Female; gastroenteritis; Humans; Lipid A; Male; Middle Aged; norovirus; Vaccination; Viral Load; Viral Vaccines; Young Adult
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Vaccines against norovirus, the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis, should protect against medically significant illness and reduce transmission.METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 18- to 50-year-olds received 2 injections of placebo or norovirus GI.1/GII.4 bivalent vaccine-like particle (VLP) vaccine with 3-O-desacyl-4'-monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) and alum. Participants were challenged as inpatients with GII.4 virus (4400 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] units), and monitored for illness and infection.RESULTS: Per protocol, 27 of 50 (54.0%) vaccinees and 30 of 48 (62.5%) controls were infected. Using predefined illness and infection definitions, vaccination did not meet the primary endpoint, but self-reported cases of severe (0% vaccinees vs. 8.3% controls; P = .054), moderate or greater (6.0% vs. 18.8%; P = .068), and mild or greater severity of vomiting and/or diarrhea (20.0% vs. 37.5%; P = .074) were less frequent. Vaccination also reduced the modified Vesikari score from 7.3 to 4.5 (P = .002). Difficulties encountered were low norovirus disease rate, and inability to define illness by quantitative RT-PCR or further antibody rise in vaccinees due to high vaccine-induced titers. By day 10, 11 of 49 (22.4%) vaccinees were shedding virus compared with 17 of 47 (36.2%) placebo recipients (P = .179).CONCLUSIONS: Bivalent norovirus VLP vaccine reduced norovirus-related vomiting and/or diarrhea; field efficacy studies are planned. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT01609257.
