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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that a vaccine given to pregnant mice protected their newborn pups from a severe bloodstream infection caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae, a dangerous bacterium that kills thousands of infants in low- and middle-income countries each year and is the leading killer of children globally.

Such infections can be difficult to treat due to the bacterium's growing resistance to antibiotics, and there is currently no vaccine available to prevent infection. The study, published Oct. 14 in Science Advances, points to a promising new strategy for protecting vulnerable infants from the drug-resistant superbug by harnessing maternal immunity.

"Klebsiella pneumoniae is a serious threat to newborns who have not yet developed their own immune defenses," said the study's senior author, David A. Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of pediatrics and of molecular microbiology at WashU Medicine. "Our study shows that maternal immunization can effectively bridge that critical window of vulnerability, giving newborns the protection they need right from birth."

K. pneumoniae is a big problem around the world, especially in the hospital where it can cause pneumonia and other infections among adults and children. In low- and middle-income countries, where children often get exposed to the bacterium in their environment, it drives severe bacterial blood infections, known as sepsis. Because K. pneumoniae is increasingly resistant to standard antibiotics, doctors are often left without effective medicines to treat such infections.

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