MERMAIDS - ARI [COVID-19] [UPH]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Multi-centre EuRopean study of MAjor Infectious Disease Syndromes (MERMAIDS): Acute Respiratory Infections in Adults
IRAS ID
168492
Contact name
Heather House
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 7 months, 28 days
Research summary
The aim of this study is to find out why some people become much more ill than others when they have acute respiratory infections. More information about how different people respond to the agents that cause respiratory disease will allow us to better predict how bad the infection is likely to be and to develop treatments specific to that particular patient. This could reduce disease severity and the risk of complications and also reduce the need for hospital admission. People at general risk of developing severe disease are well known, such as the elderly, people with long term lung or heart disease or patients with a weak immune system. However, some respiratory infections can also cause severe disease in younger previously healthy people due to a combination of the virus itself and the person’s immune responses.\nThis study will recruit adults attending doctor’s surgeries and also those receiving hospital and community care with mild to severe acute respiratory infection. We will analyse blood samples to observe individual gene activity (the process by which the instructions in our genes are converted into a product, such as a protein) and compare samples from people with different risk factors. This will provide detailed information on how the body responds to infection and help us to understand the effects of different risk factors. [COVID-19 amendment - 18/05/2020]
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0254
Date of REC Opinion
27 Aug 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion