Extract 1: Whooping-cough

Before the introduction of the whooping-cough vaccine in the 1940s, whooping cough was a severe threat, causing the deaths of about 9,000 American children each year. The vaccine has since proven to be highly effective, dramatically reducing the number of cases and fatalities. Today, the number of child deaths due to whooping cough has dropped to around 20 per year, showcasing the vaccine’s life-saving impact.

However, the effectiveness of the whooping-cough vaccine relies on its ability to keep up with the evolving bacteria. Over time, the bacteria causing whooping cough mutate, making the current vaccine less effective. To maintain its efficacy, the vaccine must be updated to adapt to these changes. “Reconfiguring the vaccine to lengthen its period of protectiveness would help ward off the illness even more,” explains Heath Damron, an assistant professor at the West Virginia University (WVU) School of Medicine.

Heath Damron is pursuing these critical updates. His goal is to develop a modified version of the vaccine that addresses the declining immunity while ensuring safety. “The goal is to be able to produce a vaccine that will deal with the waning efficacy but still remain safe,” he said, emphasizing the need to keep the vaccine effective in light of the bacteria’s mutations.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a severe respiratory infection that leads to intense coughing fits. These fits can be so severe that they interfere with normal breathing, and when the person inhales after a coughing episode, a distinctive “whoop” sound is produced. This makes the disease particularly dangerous, especially for vulnerable populations like infants.

Studies show that 90 percent of teenagers aged 15 are no longer immune to whooping cough because the protection from the vaccines they received at ages 6 and 11 has faded. The current vaccine also covers tetanus and diphtheria. However, once the initial vaccination schedule is completed, further immunization only happens if there’s a risk of tetanus, leading to gaps in protection against whooping cough. As a result, a large segment of the population becomes vulnerable to contracting and spreading the infection.

This lack of immunity among older populations poses a significant threat as they can transmit the disease to others, particularly to unvaccinated newborns who are most at risk. Whooping cough is highly contagious and can have severe effects on babies, making it crucial to maintain high levels of immunity in the community. “You have an adult population that’s passing whooping cough around, and it’s going to be worse in a child or adolescent than in an adult. That’s where this immunity profile is a problem that needs solved,” Damron said.

Moreover, the bacteria responsible for whooping cough continue to mutate, making them increasingly different from the original strains targeted by the current vaccine. Although the vaccine still identifies three to five key proteins in the bacteria to fight infection, some strains have evolved to lose these proteins. This evolution reduces the vaccine’s ability to recognize and attack the bacteria effectively, and these resistant strains are becoming more common.

Damron’s research, supported by a $1.3 million Research Challenge Grant from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, aims to enhance the whooping-cough vaccine, improve the tuberculosis vaccine, and develop a new vaccine for a dangerous type of pneumonia affecting cystic fibrosis patients. The grant also funds WVU’s new vaccine development center, which Damron envisions as a hub for innovative vaccine research, industry collaboration, and hands-on student experience in vaccine development, driving new discoveries to improve public health. By being at the cutting edge of vaccine research, the center will be instrumental in advancing new methods and technologies. “As we make discoveries in this new center, we will aim to translate our findings into protective vaccines that will enhance human health,” Damron said. “And this will happen right here in West Virginia.”