Traveler's Disease Vaccine in Trials

GAITHERSBURG, Md - Officials at Antex Biolgics Inc., have announced they will being testing their Activax combination vaccine. Activax reportedly is designed to protect those inoculated from Campylobacter jejuni and Shigella sonnei.

Campylobacter jejuni is estimated to cause 400-500 million causes of diarrhea worldwide annually. The bacterium is found in contaminated food and water. Shigella also causes an additional 200 million cases each year and frequently causes endemic or epidemic dysentery.

Consumption of contaminated food and water are the most prevalent causes of traveler's disease. Symptoms include: gastritis, acute diarrhea, high fever, dehydration, severe dysentery and death.

Patient enrollment at the Naval medical Research Center at the Walter Reed Army Institute of medical Research in Forest Glen, Maryland begins this week.