11:15hrs Tuesday 9 October 2007
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands
All media welcome

Nobel Laureate Professor Barry Marshall will announce details of a new study at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on Tuesday 9 October.

He will also call for volunteers to take part in the study which aims to determine if people develop immunity to a common stomach infection called Helicobacter pylori or H. pylori or if they are always open to re-infection.

Prof Marshall and colleagues believe genetically modified H. pylori could form the basis of a new super-vaccine against viruses such as influenza, bird flu and possibly even HIV and malaria if they can prove people do not develop immunity against the bacterium.

Prof Marshall was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2005 after demonstrating that H. pylori rather than stress or spicy food caused most stomach ulcers.

Approximately one in four people carries H. pylori. If you were born outside Australia, or if you know someone who had H.pylori, you could be a silent carrier. Most carriers contract the bacterium in childhood and the vast majority suffer no ill effects during their lives. The infection can usually be treated with conventional antibiotics.

In some cases H. pylori can trigger stomach ulcers. In 2005, Prof Marshall and Dr Robin Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine when they proved that the bacterium rather than stress or spicy food caused most stomach ulcers.

Prof Marshall will be available to answer questions about the new study from 11.15hrs on Tuesday 9 October at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

There will also be an opportunity to film Prof Marshall and colleagues working in a laboratory setting from 12.00hrs.

Please confirm attendance in advance with Ray Dunne, Public Relations Manager at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on tel. 9346 2404 or email ray.dunne@health.wa.gov.au

Media references

Ray Dunne (Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital) 61 8 9346 2404