Antibiotics and Vaccine Immune Responses Study

The study is divided into two sub-studies. The first sub-study (BCG re-challenge) is an experimental medicine study in 168 healthy participants to determine if depletion of the gut microbiota leads to impaired BCG-induced protection against a subsequent Mycobacterium bovis BCG intradermal challenge. The second sub-study (Yellow Fever vaccine) has a very similar experimental design to the first but will determine if depletion of the gut microbiota leads to impaired BCG-induced protection against other infections. To assess this, participants in this sub-study (n=180) will be re-challenged after 3 months with a live attenuated viral vaccine, the Yellow Fever vaccine, which induces a mild viremia. In both sub-studies, participants will initially be randomised to receive a 3 day course of antibiotics or none (comparator group). The two groups in each sub-study will be randomised again to receive either BCG vaccine or 0.9% NaCl placebo injection in the left arm. BCG re-challenge sub-study (Sub-study 1): Six months following randomisation, all participants will receive a BCG vaccine challenge in the right arm. A punch skin biopsy will be taken of this challenge site 2 weeks after the challenge to assess M. bovis BCG bacterial load in the skin. Yellow Fever vaccine sub-study (Sub-study 2): Three months following randomisation, all participants will receive a Yellow Fever vaccine challenge in the right arm. Blood samples will be collected from Yellow Fever vaccinated participants at day 3, 5 and 7 following Yellow Fever vaccine challenge to quantify Yellow Fever viral load in blood. All participants in both sub-studies will have blood samples collected at randomisation, before each vaccination, 2 weeks after each BCG vaccination and in the Yellow Fever vaccine sub-study at day 3, 5 and 7 following Yellow Fever vaccination. Stool samples will be collected prior to randomisation, and prior to each vaccination.