Virus May Prevent Ear Infections

Child prone to ear infections? Spray a virus up his nose and call me in the morning.

That's the unlikely prescription future doctors may be making if a remedy being tested in mice turns out to be safe in humans. According to a Reuters report, researchers working with bacteriophages, viruses that attack bacteria, isolated an enzyme the viruses use to knock out the common ear-infection culprit Streptococcus pneumoniae. They trickled some up the noses of test mice to see what would happen, and voila! No ear infections.

The procedure had a 100-percent success rate, at least among sore-eared rodents. While much testing will have to be done before it can ever be applied for children, look for nasal sprays one day boasting Super Virus Power.

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