Contacts:
Sarah Goodwin
Kathi Ovnic
Holly Korschun

April 16, 1999

PARENTS: Consider Enrolling Toddlers in
Emory Study of New Croup Vaccine

CALENDAR LISTING

Parents of toddlers between 6- to 18-months-of-age are invited to enroll their children in a croup vaccine study being conducted by Harry L. Keyserling, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine.

Parainfluenza viruses cause serious respiratory diseases such as croup (severe cough with hoarseness) and bronchitis (a wheezing illness). This study will evaluate an investigational parainfluenza type 3 vaccine compared to a placebo (inactive substance). Half of the children will receive the investigational vaccine as nosedrops and the other half will receive placebo nosedrops.

This study requires a minimum of four visits to the Emory campus, the completion of a 14-day diary and three telephone interviews. A small amount of blood will be drawn at the first and fourth visits. Numbing medication will be applied to the skin to decrease the discomfort of drawing blood. In addition, parents will be asked to return to Emory if their child develops a respiratory illness during the study period.

Clinics are held on Saturday at the Emory Pediatric Clinic, 2032 Ridgewood Dr., Atlanta. The vaccine is administered free-of-charge and parents will be reimbursed for travel expenses. For information, call Dr. Keyserling's office at 404/ 727-4044.

For more general information on The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center, call Health Sciences Communication's Office at 404-727-5686, or send e-mail to hsnews@emory.edu.