Shigella Sonnel O-SPC/rBRU Conjugate Vaccine

The active ingredient of this Shigella sonnei O-SP-core conjugate vaccine is a saccharide-protein conjugate composed of a fragment of S. sonnei LPS. The saccharide component consists of an average of 3.5 repeat units of the O-SP plus the core region of the LPS (O-SPC). The O-SPC is covalently bound to the recombinant non-toxic exoprotein B of Clostridium difficile. The objective of this phase of the study is to determine if this vaccine is safe and can induce IgG antibody type-specific immunity to shigellosis in adults. The overall objective is to determine if this vaccine can elicit higher levels of IgG antibody than the previous experimental vaccines made with the full length O-SP, shown to be \>70% efficacious in greater than or equal to3 year old children, to induce type-specific immunity to shigellosis in younger children. Sixty 18-49 years-old healthy adults will be recruited in Israel. Volunteers will be vaccinated on a random basis with one i.m. injection of 10 or 25 micrograms of the investigational conjugate vaccine. Local and systemic reactions will be observed at 30 minutes, and the volunteers will be instructed to take their temperature and examine the injection site for redness and swelling and fill out a questionnaire at 6, hours and daily for 7 days after vaccination. The volunteers will visit the clinic at 24 or 48 hours following the injection and any time they request it. The study will commence with 5 volunteers injected with the 10ug dose to be followed, if no severe adverse reactions occur, by 5 volunteers injected with the 25ug dose. If a severe adverse reaction occurs on 1 of the 5 volunteers in either group, 5 more will be injected with that dose. If there are no severe adverse reactions the study will proceed. If there is one more severe reaction the study will be halted and re-evaluated by the IRB and the FDA. Vaccine-induced antibodies will be measured at 1 and 6 months after immunization, and compared to those elicited by our previous