Researchers are developing a number of vaccines with the potential to prevent ear infections in children.

Enlarge By Jennifer S. Altman for USA TODAY Denise Gordon anda Todd Wiley observe their children Jackson, 4, and Langston Wiley, 6, at their home in Brooklyn. the boys had tubes implanted in their ears because of infections, but are better now. PREVENT EAR INFECTIONS PREVENT EAR INFECTIONS • Breastfeed babies for six months or longer. • Don't smoke. Keep children away from secondhand smoke. • Don't allow children to use a pacifier after age 18 months. • Use fewer antibiotics, which promote the growth of resistant bacteria. Source: Richard Rosenfeld, Long Island College Hospital HEALTH UPDATES ON TWITTER HEALTH UPDATES ON TWITTER Ear infections are a painful rite of passage — both for crying children and their sleep-deprived parents. With about 13 million annual cases in children under 5, ear infections are the leading reason for prescribing antibiotics, according to an article in Pediatrics in May. The ailments are more common in the first few years of life because the eustachian tubes in a young child's middle ears are short, floppy and prone to collecting fluid that can foster bacteria. Some children suffer more than others. Jackson Wiley, 4, and his brother, Langston, 6, had so many ear infections that the fluid in their ears actually muffled sounds from the outside world. Because they couldn't hear well, both boys had trouble learning to talk, says their mother, Denise Gordon of Brooklyn, N.Y. "They weren't following directions, and we weren't sure if they couldn't understand or if they couldn't hear," says Gordon, who takes both children to speech therapy. When the child were 2, their doctor recommended surgery to implant ear tubes. The procedure aims to ventilate the middle ear and allow fluid to drain rather than build up and get infected, says the boys' doctor, Richard Rosenfeld, professor and chairman of otolaryngology at Long Island College Hospital. More than 300,000 kids have the procedures each year, according to Pediatrics. Both children needed a repeat procedure to install a second set of tubes in each ear, Gordon says. Because the tubes tend to fall out after 12 to 18 months, about one in three children need repeat procedures, Rosenfeld says. Although the boys can now hear and speak well, Langston is still prone to painful ear infections, Gordon says. Though researchers don't yet have a way to stop this suffering, they are working on at least three experimental vaccines with the potential to prevent ear infections. Developing vaccines for ear infections is tricky because more than 100 types of germs cause such infections, Rosenfeld says. Because children develop ear infections so often, and because parents miss so much work because of them, certain vaccines against ear infections could actually be cost-effective, even if they cost $65 to $125 each, says Tracy Lieu of Children's Hospital Boston, co-author of the Pediatrics paper. Three candidate vaccines might offer relief: Prevnar 13 The Prevnar vaccine, licensed in 2000, prevents infection with seven of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia, meningitis and blood infections, which can be fatal. The same bacteria also cause ear infections, Rosenfeld says. Prevnar has helped reduce cases of invasive pneumococcal disease, such as pneumonia and meningitis, by 34%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the vaccine has barely made a dent in the number of ear infections, Rosenfeld says. That's because many other types of pneumococcus also cause ear infections, and these strains have proliferated to replace the bacteria blocked by the vaccine. Wyeth, which makes Prevnar, has applied for approval of a second-generation vaccine to block 13 strains of pneumococcus, hoping to offer even better protection against pneumonia and meningitis. The company expects the Food and Drug Administration to decide on approval by the end of September, says spokeswoman Lili Gordon. Doctors don't yet know how the new vaccine will affect ear infections, Rosenfeld says. Synflorix GlaxoSmithKline has developed a vaccine called Synflorix, approved in Europe in March, against 10 types of pneumococcal bacteria that cause ear infections and more serious illness. In a 2006 study in The Lancet, an early version of Synflorix reduced ear infections by 34%. GlaxoSmithKline doesn't know how well the final version will prevent ear infections, because researchers haven't yet completed a definitive trial, says company spokesman Jeff McLaughlin. The company has not yet applied for FDA approval. A topical vaccine Hoping to spare children from the pain of shots, researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, are testing a topical vaccine against ear infections. The vaccine — so far tested only in chinchillas, a type of rodent — is rubbed into the skin around the ear. The topical vaccine still needs to be tested in humans. And even if it's successful, it would take years before it would be ready for approval, says researcher Lauren Bakaletz, a professor at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. If the vaccines are approved, Gordon says she would definitely consider them for her boys. "I see what my son goes through," she says. "The pain is really bad." Until then, parents and children are left to take comfort in the fact that children eventually grow out of ear infections, Rosenfeld says. Ear infections tend to become much less common by age 3 or 4 and almost disappear by age 7. "It's an occupational hazard of childhood," Gordon says. "The only cure is to feed them and water them and let kids grow up." Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more