A human challenge trial supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)has shown that a new vaccine could offer better protection against whooping cough.
This follows a recent report from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which highlights that 2024 whooping cough numbers were at their worst in 30 years.
Whooping cough is a serious and sometimes deadly disease that affects millions of people worldwide each year. The vaccine, named BPZE1, was tested in a clinical trial at the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility (CRF). Vaccines for whooping cough are part of routine childhood immunisations in the UK. However, they don’t provide lifelong protection and don’t stop people from carrying or spreading the bacteria.
The UKHSA has recently published its Annual Pertussis Report for 2024: Laboratory confirmed cases of pertussis in England. The data shows that 2024 was a tough year for pertussis, or whooping cough. There were 14,879 cases, the highest number in England since enhanced surveillance started in 1994. The report shows that pertussis peaks every three-to-five years. However, COVID-19 social distancing kept disease levels very low from 2020 to 2023. Then, cases began to rise, leading to a resurgence in 2024. Tragically, 11 babies with pertussis died in 2024.
The new study is the first to show that a vaccine can stop the bacteria causing whooping cough from living in the nose and throat. This is a key step in preventing the spread of infection. With further trials and regulatory approval, this vaccine could be given to adults or children.
The trial was sponsored by ILiAD Biotechnologies. It was delivered in partnership between University Hospital Southampton, the University of Southampton and the University of Oxford.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious infection that affects the lungs and airways. It can be very dangerous for young babies, especially before they get their first vaccine doses at 8, 12, and 16 weeks in the UK programme.
The CHAMPION-1 study tested whether BPZE1 – a weakened version of the whooping cough bacteria – could safely protect people from infection. The vaccine was given as a single spray into the nose. A total of 53 adult volunteers took part in the trial at the NIHR Southampton CRF and in Oxford. Two to four months after getting the vaccine or a placebo, participants were exposed to the bacteria in a controlled setting. They stayed in a quarantine facility for 16 nights. Researchers watched their health and collected samples.
Before leaving, all participants were given antibiotics to clear any remaining bacteria. The results, now published in The Lancet Microbe, show that BPZE1 was safe and well tolerated, with no serious side effects. Most people who received the vaccine had little or no bacteria in their nose after being exposed. This means they could be less likely to pass the infection on to others.
The vaccine also triggered strong immune responses in both the nose and the blood. This could suggest it offers long-lasting protection.
Professor Robert Read, who led the study at the NIHR Southampton BRC, said: “This is the first time a whooping cough vaccine has been shown to prevent the bacteria from colonising the nose and throat in humans. That could represent a big step forward in stopping the spread of the disease.”
- Gbesemete D, Ramasamy MN, Ibrahim M, et al. Efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety of the live attenuated nasal pertussis vaccine, BPZE1, in the UK: a randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 2b trial using a controlled human infection model with virulent Bordetella pertussis. Lancet Microbe. Published online December 1, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101211