Influenza Virus Induces Bacterial and Nonbacterial Otitis Media

Otitis media (OM) is one of the most common childhood diseases. OM can arise when a viral infection enables bacteria to disseminate from the nasopharynx to the middle ear. Here, we provide the first infant murine model for disease. Mice coinfected with Streptococcus pneumoniae and influenza virus had high bacterial load in the middle ear, middle ear inflammation, and hearing loss. In contrast, mice colonized with S. pneumoniae alone had significantly less bacteria in the ear, minimal hearing loss, and no inflammation. Of interest, infection with influenza virus alone also caused some middle ear inflammation and hearing loss. Overall, this study provides a clinically relevant and easily accessible animal model to study the pathogenesis and prevention of OM. Moreover, we provide, to our knowledge, the first evidence that influenza virus alone causes middle ear inflammation in infant mice. This inflammation may then play an important role in the development of bacterial OM. Otitis media (OM) affects.80 % of children before the age of 3 years and can cause meningitis, hearing loss, and learning difficulties [1, 2]. OM also represents a signifi-cant health care burden, with billions of dollars spent every year in the United States on this disease [3]. Despit