Primate outbreak yields key targets for Shigella vaccine development
An outbreak of Shigella among more than 150 research primates over two years produced extensive immunological data. Scientists identified specific bacterial components that trigger strong antibody responses, offering new targets for vaccine design. The findings could aid efforts against a pathogen that kills over 200,000 people annually.
The outbreak, which began in December 2022 at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, produced 169 confirmed infections across the colony. Researchers sequenced 95 representative isolates, identifying two related clusters of Shigella flexneri, with 63 percent of tested isolates showing multidrug resistance. Blood and immune cell samples were collected from 41 infected animals at one, two, and four-to-six-week intervals following detection.
The scientists mapped antibody responses against specific bacterial surface components, identifying precise molecular notches where potent antibodies attached. This structural detail addresses a gap in existing vaccine efforts, which have lacked the fine-grained molecular data needed for rational design. The findings appeared in Science Translational Medicine.
A broadly protective Shigella vaccine could substantially reduce the 200,000-plus annual deaths, mostly among children in low-resource settings. With antibiotic resistance rising—63 percent of outbreak isolates were multidrug resistant—treatment options are narrowing. These