Live biotherapies for improved respiratory health in children
Tamlyn Fairall A , Yi Bin Koh A , Anastasia Basuki A , Mark P. Nicol A B and Ritika Kar Bahal A *A
B
Tamlyn Fairall is a research scientist at the Marshall Centre for Infectious Disease, The University of Western Australia (UWA). Tamlyn has research interests in infectious disease and microbiology and how this can contribute to advancements in public health. |
Yi Bin Koh is a PhD student at The University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on interbacterial relationships within the nasopharynx, aiming to address childhood pneumonia. |
Anastasia Basuki is an Honours student at The University of Western Australia. Currently, Anastasia is researching the mechanisms of interactions between nasopharyngeal bacteria, aiming to contribute to future research in this area. |
Mark Nicol is professor of microbiology at The University of Western Australia. He studied medicine and medical microbiology at the University of the Witwatersrand and completed his PhD in childhood tuberculosis in Cape Town. His research explores the role of the early life microbiome in acute and chronic respiratory illnesses in children. He also has an active research programme involved in the development and evaluation of better diagnostic tests for tuberculosis and pneumonia. He is Chair of the WHO Advisory Group on Tuberculosis Diagnostics and Laboratory Strengthening. |
Dr Ritika Kar Bahal is a BrightSpark Early Career Child Health Research fellow at The University of Western Australia. She completed her PhD in tuberculosis research from University of Delhi, India, and relocated to Perth in 2018. Her current research explores the role of the early life microbiome and bacterial–bacterial interactions in respiratory illnesses in children. Dr Bahal has received several prestigious scholarships and awards, such as the Nature Microbiome Accelerator award 2024 and the FEMS ECR talk award at ASM National Meeting 2024. She works closely with community members in co-designing translational goals for her research. |
Abstract
Pneumonia remains the leading cause of death in children under five outside of the neonatal period. Antibiotic treatment for bacterial pneumonia is usually effective; however, the rise of antimicrobial resistance threatens treatment outcomes and the adverse health outcomes of administrating antibiotics in early childhood can be lifelong. Children with pneumonia also place immense pressure on health systems, therefore, the prevention of pneumonia in children must be prioritised. An alternative novel potential prevention strategy for respiratory infections, is the use of live biotherapeutics. This is based on recent research showing that the composition of the nasopharyngeal microbiome follows succession patterns in early childhood, with certain bacterial genera, being associated with healthy respiratory outcomes whereas others are associated with poor respiratory outcomes. Our research uses nasopharyngeal samples from the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS) to create a biobank of isolates for researching bacterial interactions within the nasopharyngeal microbiome. We aim to identify candidate bacterial strains that may be used in the development of live biotherapies targeting potentially pathogenic bacteria and therefore, improve respiratory health outcomes in children.
Keywords: biobank, commensal bacteria, DCHS, Drakenstein Child Health Study, live biotherapeutics, microbial interactions, nasopharyngeal microbiome, pathogens, pneumonia, respiratory tract.
Tamlyn Fairall is a research scientist at the Marshall Centre for Infectious Disease, The University of Western Australia (UWA). Tamlyn has research interests in infectious disease and microbiology and how this can contribute to advancements in public health. |
Yi Bin Koh is a PhD student at The University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on interbacterial relationships within the nasopharynx, aiming to address childhood pneumonia. |
Anastasia Basuki is an Honours student at The University of Western Australia. Currently, Anastasia is researching the mechanisms of interactions between nasopharyngeal bacteria, aiming to contribute to future research in this area. |
Mark Nicol is professor of microbiology at The University of Western Australia. He studied medicine and medical microbiology at the University of the Witwatersrand and completed his PhD in childhood tuberculosis in Cape Town. His research explores the role of the early life microbiome in acute and chronic respiratory illnesses in children. He also has an active research programme involved in the development and evaluation of better diagnostic tests for tuberculosis and pneumonia. He is Chair of the WHO Advisory Group on Tuberculosis Diagnostics and Laboratory Strengthening. |
Dr Ritika Kar Bahal is a BrightSpark Early Career Child Health Research fellow at The University of Western Australia. She completed her PhD in tuberculosis research from University of Delhi, India, and relocated to Perth in 2018. Her current research explores the role of the early life microbiome and bacterial–bacterial interactions in respiratory illnesses in children. Dr Bahal has received several prestigious scholarships and awards, such as the Nature Microbiome Accelerator award 2024 and the FEMS ECR talk award at ASM National Meeting 2024. She works closely with community members in co-designing translational goals for her research. |
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