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Researchers share their expertise with the community in CockburnResearchers from the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at The Kids Research Institute Australia have shared their expertise with the community in Cockburn, covering topics ranging from respiratory disease in babies to recurring ear infections in kids.

News & Events
Warm Welcome for the Neonatal Infection and Immunity TeamClinical Professor Tobias Strunk, Dr Andrew Currie and their Neonatal Infection and Immunity Team have become the newest members of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases.
Research
Glue EarGlue ear is when a child's middle ear fills with sticky fluid behind the ear drum. A common condition, glue ear usually goes undetected, as it's not an obvious condition from the outside.
Research
Evidence of maternal transfer of antigen-specific antibodies in serum and breast milk to infants at high-risk of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae diseaseChildren in low-mid income countries, and First Nations children in high-income countries, experience disproportionately high rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae infections and diseases including pneumonia and otitis media.
Research
Safety, tolerability, and effect of a single aural dose of Dornase alfa at the time of ventilation tube surgery for otitis media: A Phase 1b double randomized control trialOne third of children require repeat ventilation tube insertion (VTI) for otitis media. Disease recurrence is associated with persistent middle ear bacterial biofilms. With demonstration that Dornase alfa (a DNase) disrupts middle ear effusion biofilms ex vivo, we identified potential for this as an anti-biofilm therapy to prevent repeat VTI. First, safety and tolerability needed to be measured.
Research
An infant mouse model of influenza-driven nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae colonization and acute otitis media suitable for preclinical testing of novel therapiesNontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a major otitis media (OM) pathogen, with colonization a prerequisite for disease development. Most acute OM is in children <5 years old, with recurrent and chronic OM impacting hearing and learning. Therapies to prevent NTHi colonization and/or disease are needed, especially for young children. Respiratory viruses are implicated in driving the development of bacterial OM in children.
Research
Aural toilet (ear cleaning) for chronic suppurative otitis mediaChronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), sometimes referred to as chronic otitis media (COM), is a chronic inflammation and often polymicrobial infection (involving more than one micro-organism) of the middle ear and mastoid cavity, characterised by ear discharge (otorrhoea) through a perforated tympanic membrane.
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Topical versus systemic antibiotics for chronic suppurative otitis mediaTo assess the relative effectiveness of topical versus systemic antibiotics for people with chronic suppurative otitis media
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Aural toilet (ear cleaning) for chronic suppurative otitis mediaTo assess the effects of aural toilet procedures for people with chronic suppurative otitis media
Research
Panel 4: Recent advances in understanding the natural history of the otitis media microbiome and its response to environmental pressuresAdvances in understanding bacterial dynamics in the upper airway microbiome are driving development of microbiota-modifying therapies to prevent or treat disease