Early-stage trial shows promising results for ‘desperately needed’ chlamydia vaccine
An early-stage clinical trial has come back with promising results for a chlamydia vaccine, researchers have said.
There is currently no jab to protect against the disease, which is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the UK.
Almost 200,000 cases were identified in England alone in 2022, a nearly 25% rise from the year before, according to latest NHS figures.
Chlamydia is a common cause of infertility in women. It can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to scar tissue which makes it harder to get pregnant if left untreated.
The bacteria can also cause an eye infection that is responsible for vision loss in 1.9 million people worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.
An early clinical trial of the experimental vaccine, led by researchers in the UK and Denmark, found it was safe and induced an immune response, according to findings published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
More than 150 people took part in the study between 2020 and 2022 at the National Institute for Health Research in London.
Participants were equally split between healthy men and women with an average age of 26. None of them had chlamydia.
The researchers tested several different dosages of the vaccine, and participants got either the jab or a placebo on three separate days over a period of almost four months.
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Although the vaccine induced an immune response, Dr Hilary Reno, medical director of the St Louis County Sexual Health Clinic, said questions remained about its effectiveness.
She said: “Does it confer the ability to hold off infection with chlamydia? If you do have an infection, does it mean you’re more likely to have an asymptomatic infection?
“We don’t know that and that’s what the next phase of studies would be.”
The researchers are now planning to launch a larger, “phase two” trial that would look at the vaccine’s effectiveness.
The hope is that one day the jab will be able to prevent both infections in the reproductive system, as well as in the eyes, said Jes Dietrich, a senior scientist at the Statens Serum Institute in Denmark and a lead author of the study.
In addition to a shot in the arm, participants in the study also received a vaccine in the form of an eye drop.
“I was very pleasantly surprised because it’s really difficult to induce immunity in the eye,” Dr Dietrich said.
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David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors in the US, said the vaccine was “desperately needed”.
One of the other most common STIs is the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), although most people with the virus have no symptoms.
Some strains are associated with cervical cancer and the UK has been offering all secondary school girls an HPV vaccine since 2008.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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