Microbiome discovery could help save kids' hearing

Date:
November 9, 2021
Source:
University of Queensland
Summary:
Bacteria found in children's upper respiratory systems could
help fight chronic middle ear infections, the leading cause of
preventable hearing loss and deafness in Indigenous communities.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Bacteria found in children's upper respiratory systems could help fight
chronic middle ear infections, the leading cause of preventable hearing
loss and deafness in Indigenous communities.


==========================================================================
The University of Queensland's Dr Seweryn Bialasiewicz said this discovery helped explain a long-held mystery, while providing hope for potential treatments.

"We've been puzzled for years now, trying to work out why some children
never develop chronic ear disease, despite being in a high-risk category
for contracting it," Dr Bialasiewicz said.

"By focusing on the microbiomes in the upper respiratory tracts of
disease- resistant kids, we could investigate the ecological networks
of bacterial interactions that seemed to be working together to protect
against the condition.

"It was clear that these two groups of bacteria needed to not only be
present, but to be interacting with each other, to provide protection from middle ear infections." Dr Bialasiewicz said they were hoping to use
this information to figure out what the exact mechanism of protection
is, and then mimic it in the very young children, as a therapy or a preventative measure.



========================================================================== "This could take the form of a molecule that can be used as a drug for treatment, or as a protective probiotic so that these 'good' bacteria
can be seeded in the nose early enough to offer protection against the
incoming 'bad' bacteria," he said.

Dr Andrea Coleman, who completed her PhD work on the project this year,
said the research provided a new perspective on how middle ear infections develop and could pave the way for new treatments.

"Chronic middle ear infections can affect between one third to one half
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, which is far above
the four per cent threshold that the World Health Organisation considers
as a disease needing urgent public health action," Dr Coleman said.

"This disease can cause hearing loss and can have life-long impacts
on speech and language development, education, and future employment
prospects, and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations
contributes to the wide gap in educational and employment outcomes."
The study investigated the microbiomes of 103 children aged two to seven
from two north Queensland communities.

Dr Bialasiewicz said chronic middle ear infections resulting in hearing
loss was a major problem with Indigenous and other disadvantaged
populations globally.

"Our discovery could be applied across the world, helping improve health
and reducing the disadvantage gap for a wide range of people," he said.

The team has acknowledged the support of the Deadly Ears team, the
Queensland Health's statewide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ear
Health Program doing on-the-ground treatment and education, as well as
the generous assistance of parents and children within the participating communities.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Queensland. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Andrea Coleman, Julian Zaugg, Amanda Wood, Kyra Cottrell, Eva Grahn
Haakansson, Jasmyn Adams, Matthew Brown, Anders Cervin, Seweryn
Bialasiewicz. Upper Respiratory Tract Microbiome of Australian
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children in Ear and Nose
Health and Disease.

Microbiology Spectrum, 2021; 9 (2) DOI: 10.1128/Spectrum.00367-21 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211109095341.htm

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