Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG)

The Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG) applies a multi-disciplinary approach to prevent, diagnose and treat bacterial respiratory infections to deliver improved strategies to reduce the global burden of disease. We have a major focus on ear and lung disease, and vaccine development involving Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae.

The Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG) is a team of research microbiologists and immunologists who work closely with clinicians, ENT surgeons, epidemiologists and community to:

• understand bacterial infections of the respiratory tract,
• assess the effectiveness of current therapies i.e. vaccines in reducing disease,
• develop improved treatments to reduce the burden of bacterial respiratory infections.

We have a major focus ear and lung disease involving Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. Despite availability of antibiotics and improved vaccines, these pathogens are still the most significant cause of childhood morbidity and mortality from bacterial respiratory disease.

Over 1 million children die from pneumonia each year; with children in low-income countries and Indigenous Australians at greatest risk of disease. Otitis media (OM; middle ear infection) is responsible for the highest number of GP visits, antibiotic prescriptions and surgical procedures for children, with a global estimate of 740 million cases per year, including 31 million cases of chronic OM and 21 thousand deaths due to OM complications.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have one of the highest rates of chronic OM in the world, described by the WHO as “a massive public health problem requiring urgent attention”. Our current research will inform vaccine policy, advance vaccine development, and has the potential to translate to commercialisation of new treatments and diagnostic tests to reduce the high global burden of bacterial respiratory infections.

Team Highlights

1. Publication of our research on immune responses to pneumococcal vaccines in high-risk populations (PNG infants [Lehmann et al, 2018], children with recurrent acute otitis media [Kirkham et al, 2017], Aboriginal children [Thornton et al, 2017], HIV-positive adults [Abdulai et al, 2017])

2. Selected onto the Advanced Vaccinology Training course at Les Pensières, Veyrier-du-Lac, France (Kirkham, May 2017)

3. Plenary and invited speaker presentations at the international pneumococcal meeting (Kirkham, 2018), national otitis media meeting (Kirkham 2018), the European Society for Paediatric Otorhinolaryngology (Thornton, 2018), and the international otitis media conference (Kirkham and Thornton, June 2017).

4. Won bid to host the 2020 national otitis media conference in Perth.