PneuMum: Pneumococcal Vaccination of Australian Indigenous Mothers to See if it Protects Their Babies From Ear Disease

PneuMum: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mothers to Protect Their Babies From Ear Disease

PneuMum is a randomised controlled trial that aims to find out if pneumococcal vaccination for Australian Indigenous mothers, in the last few months of pregnancy or at delivery, can prevent ear disease in infants. Mothers will receive the 23 valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) either: a) during the third trimester of pregnancy; b) soon after child birth; or c) seven months after child birth (control group). The adult diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (dTPa) will be used as the control vaccine for the birth dose.

The study aims to recruit 210 Indigenous women aged 18-39 years who have an uncomplicated pregnancy. Following recruitment, subjects will be randomly assigned to one of the three groups.

Each mother and infant will be followed from pregnancy until the baby is seven months of age. Children will receive all of their routinely recommended vaccinations in accordance with the standard vaccination schedule.

The primary outcome will be prevalence of ear infection at seven months of age, defined as middle ear effusion or tympanic membrane perforation or acute otitis media. Pneumatic otoscopy, video-otoscopy and tympanometry will be used in the ear examinations. The primary analyses will be a direct comparison of the proportion of infants in the control group who have nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci at seven months of age compared to infants in each of the other two groups and a similar comparison of the proportion with middle ear disease.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Pneumococcal Infections; Tympanic Membrane Perforation; Acute Otitis Media; Middle Ear Effusion
• Intervention / Treatment: Biological: 23 valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine

Detailed Description

PneuMum is a randomised controlled trial that aims to find out if pneumococcal vaccination for Australian Indigenous mothers, in the last few months of pregnancy or at delivery, can prevent ear disease in infants. Two vaccines will be used in this trial:

• The 23 valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV), is currently recommended for all Indigenous people in the Northern Territory from 15 years of age but uptake among women of child-bearing age has been low.
• Adult diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (dTPa) will be used as the control vaccine. This vaccine is recommended for all new parents who have not previously been immunised but is not currently funded so would normally need to be purchased on prescription through a pharmacist.

Rationale

Indigenous children experience the highest rates of acute and chronic ear infections in the world, resulting in permanent ear damage, hearing loss and educational disadvantage. These infections are mainly bacterial. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is the predominant pathogen. Pneumococcal colonisation and infection begins within days of birth, months before any potential immunological protection from infant pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may be expected. New strategies are needed to eliminate, or at least delay, this early-onset pneumococcal colonisation.

Maternal vaccination with the 23 valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) during pregnancy or at delivery is one strategy that may protect newborn infants through mechanisms such as transplacental antibody transfer, increased secretory antibody in breast milk, and/or by reducing nasopharyngeal carriage (and transmission to the infant) of maternal pneumococci. Previous small studies using this strategy have been encouraging, but there have been no studies properly evaluating nasopharyngeal carriage or disease endpoints in infants.

Methods

We hope to recruit 210 Indigenous women aged 18-39 years who have an uncomplicated pregnancy. Following recruitment, subjects will be randomly assigned to one of three groups:

• Group A will receive 23vPPV in the last few months of pregnancy
• Group B will receive 23vPPV soon after childbirth
• Group C will receive 23vPPV seven months after childbirth (the control group).

Women in Groups A and C will receive dTPa soon after childbirth (to conceal the intervention groups), whereas women in Group C will be offered dTpa seven months after childbirth (end of the observation period).

Study participants will be visited at least five times:

1. During the last few months of pregnancy (30-36 weeks gestation)

   • The group of mothers receiving 23vPPV at this visit will also have a sample taken of their blood

2. At Royal Darwin Hospital when the baby is born

   • Each mother will receive either 23vPPV or dTpa depending on their allocation
   • Each mother will have a sample taken of their blood, the cord blood, a nasopharyngeal swab and a sample of expressed breast milk

3. When the baby is one month old

   • Each baby will have their ears checked and a nasopharyngeal swab taken. A swab will also be taken of any discharge from the baby's ear/s. Mothers will be asked for sample of expressed breast milk.

4. When the baby is two months old

   • The same checks and samples as the previous month.

5. When the baby is seven months old

   • Each mother and baby will have the same checks and samples as the previous months. Babies will also have a sample taken of their blood. Mothers who have not yet had 23vPPV will be offered that vaccine as will those who have not yet had dTpa.

Primary Outcome

The primary outcome will be prevalence of ear infection at seven months of age, defined as middle ear effusion or tympanic membrane perforation or acute otitis media. Pneumatic otoscopy, video-otoscopy and tympanometry will be used in the ear examinations. The primary analyses will be a direct comparison of the proportion of infants in the control group (Group C) who have nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci at seven months of age compared to infants in each of the other two groups and a similar comparison of the proportion with middle ear disease.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 210
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Australia
  • Northern Territory
    • Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, 0811
      • Menzies School of Health Research

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years to 39 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Singleton uncomplicated pregnancy
• Reside in Darwin, Maningrida, Wadeye or the Tiwi Islands
• Intends to deliver child at the Royal Darwin Hospital
• Has given informed consent to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

• Had 23vPPV within the previous three years
• Had a previous dose of dTpa
• intends to leave the study area during the follow-up period
• HIV positive
• History of severe allergy, uncontrolled asthma or splenectomy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: Single

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Prevalence of ear infection at seven months of age, defined as middle ear effusion or tympanic membrane perforation or acute otitis media
Nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci	at seven months of age

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Prevalence of ear infection	at one month of age
Nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci	at one month of age
Prevalence of ear infection	at two months of age
Nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine type pneumococci	at two months of age
Relationship of maternal pneumococcal carriage, maternal anti-pneumococcal antibody levels, cord blood antibody levels and breast milk antibody levels to infant carriage and middle ear disease	at one, two and seven months of age
Impact of each maternal vaccination strategy on breast milk antibody levels to serotypes contained in the vaccine
Impact of each maternal vaccination strategy on breast milk antibody avidity (to four selected serotypes)
Impact of each maternal vaccination strategy on maternal antibody response to antepartum or postpartum 23vPPV
Impact of each maternal vaccination strategy on infant anti-pneumococcal antibody levels	at seven months of age (following the 3rd recommended dose of 7vPCV)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Melbourne
• Collaborators: National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia; Menzies School of Health Research
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ross M Andrews, PhD, The University of Melbourne and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute; Principal Investigator: Jonathan R Carapetis, PhD, The University of Melbourne and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute; Principal Investigator: Peter S Morris, PhD, Menzies School of Health Research; Principal Investigator: Edward K Mulholland, DM, The Univeristy of Melbourne and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Martinovich KM, Seppanen EJ, Bleakley AS, Clark SL, Andrews RM, Richmond PC, Binks MJ, Thornton RB, Kirkham LS. Evidence of maternal transfer of antigen-specific antibodies in serum and breast milk to infants at high-risk of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae disease. Front Immunol. 2022 Sep 21;13:1005344. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1005344. eCollection 2022.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2006
• Study Completion (Anticipated): January 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 31, 2006
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 31, 2006
• First Posted (Estimate): April 3, 2006

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 13, 2007
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 12, 2007
• Last Verified: March 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: clinical trial; Maternal; Streptococcus pneumoniae; pneumococcal vaccine; Indigenous
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infections; Wounds and Injuries; Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases; Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Infections and Mycoses; Streptococcal Infections; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Otitis; Pneumococcal Infections; Otitis Media; Otitis Media with Effusion; Ear Diseases; Tympanic Membrane Perforation; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Immunologic Factors; Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2 November 2005