A vaccine against parainfluenza virus type 3 is safe and triggers an immune response in infants, researchers report. Human PIV3, say the researchers, is second only to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as a cause of bronchial inflammation and pneumonia in young kids.

Dr. David P. Greenberg from University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and colleagues tested multiple doses of the vaccine, which is based on bovine PIV3 and is administered in a nasal spray, in 192 healthy 2-month-old infants.

Runny nose and nasal congestion, irritability, and cough were frequently reported after administration, especially after the second dose, the team reports in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. There were no serious vaccine-related adverse events.

The proportion of children that developed antibodies after the fourth dose (at 13-16 months of age) was 100 percent for those given a high dose of the vaccine, and 86 percent for kids who got a low dose.

Clarencia Stephen, a spokesperson for the vaccine’s manufacturer, MedImmune of Mountain View, California, told Reuters Health that “since RSV and PIV3 are leading causes of pediatric respiratory disease, it is important to develop a vaccine targeting both viruses.”

In fact, she noted that in January, MedImmune filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval of a combination RSV and PIV3 candidate vaccine.

SOURCE: Journal of Infectious Diseases, April 1, 2005.