Take a deep breath for a shot of immunity

Injections for immunisation, dreaded by many, may soon be replaced by inhalers or nasal sprays, according to researchers at Aston University.

Oya Alpar, senior lecturer at Aston's school of life and health science, said we will have to rely more on vaccines because anti-viral drugs are limited and the effectiveness of antibiotics appears to be decreasing. Nasal delivery, which could ease patients' fears of vaccinations, requires smaller doses than delivery by mouth because drug molecules can easily penetrate the lymphoid tissue of the nose.

Alpar believes that it will be possible to provide protection against many, if not all, current infectious diseases by this new approach.