Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Wednesday November 7, 2001
The Wellcome Trust said the new "prime boost" vaccine will be tested on volunteers in the first part of a study of the treatment to protect adults against the disease.
Although the BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) vaccine that was developed 80 years ago protects children from TB, the charity said resistance wanes after about 10 years and the body is again vulnerable to attack.
"With one-third of the world's population thought to be latently infected with M. (mycobacterium) tuberculosis, about two million dying from tuberculosis every year, and resistance to available drugs on the increase in many parts of the world, the need for a new vaccine that helps adults is pressing," said Oxford University researcher Dr. Helen McShane.
"The HIV epidemic is making the problem worse. If you are infected with HIV you are more likely to get TB. There is a dangerous synergy between the two," she said in the charity newsletter.
The TB vaccine developed by McShane involves using two different vaccines, each of which includes the same antigen, a substance that causes an immune response in the body. The existing BCG vaccine will be given and the new vaccine will act as the booster.
In mice trials the new strategy worked extremely well at boosting the levels of T helper and T killer cells. The trials will determine if the same immune response occurs in humans.
The first part of the trial is expected to take two to three years. If the vaccine works, it will be tested in further studies in countries where TB is endemic, the charity said.
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