Dose-Finding Study of CS19 Expressing ETEC Challenge Strains

This is a phase 1, open-label, strain and dose-finding study designed to establish a human challenge modelfor CS19-ETEC that causes a \> 80% attack rate without causing high output diarrhea. This study design is identical to that of the CS17 challenge model recently completed. Two strains of CS19-ETEC isolated from human diarrheal cases have been identified and characterized. Each clinical isolate was used to generate a cGMP MCB and procedures were established to create a fresh inoculum to administer orally in a sodium bicarbonate solution for challenge. Refer to Section 8 for full details on the isolation and preparation of these strains. CS19-ETEC strain WS0115A (toxin phenotype of LT+ ST+ and serotype O114:H-) will be the lead strain and will be administered orally to an initial cohort of 5 subjects. This strain was isolated from the stool of a 12-month-old Egyptian girl suffering from watery diarrhea identified during a surveillance study conducted in Abees, Egypt from 1993 to 1995 by investigators at the Naval Medical Research Unit-3 (NAMRU-3), Cairo, Egypt. A negative microbiologic work-up for copathogens (other bacterialenteropathogens, rotavirus, Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, and Cryptosporidium) supports that the isolated WS0115A strain was pathogenic in this child. Since this strain has an LT+ST+ toxin phenotype, it is the preferred strain to lead in testing the challenge model, since heterologous protection by bovine milk IgG anti-CsbD against an LT+ST+ phenotype would offer a more robust test of the protection afforded by anti-colonization. The alternate strain, CS-19 ETEC strain DS26-1 (toxin phenotype LT+ST-;serotype O8:H9) was isolated in 1990 at the U.S. Navy Forward Laboratory from a U.S. soldier with diarrhea while on deployment to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield. A negative microbiologic work-up for copathogens (Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae, Giardia lamblia or Entamoeba histolytica)supports that the isolated DS26-1 strain was pathogenic in this individual. Each clinical isolate was used to generate a cGMP master cell bank and procedures were established to create a fresh inoculum to administer orally in a sodium bicarbonate solution for challenge. Refer to Section 8 for full details on the isolation and preparation of these strains.