ABOVE: Macrophages consume M. tuberculosis in the lung in this illustration. ©ISTOCK.COM, SELVANEGRA
An experimental vaccine continues to show promise in preventing active tuberculosis infections in patients with the latent form of the disease, researchers reported yesterday (October 29) in The New England Journal of Medicine and at the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health conference.
“The vaccine looks promising, and likely better than our century-old BCG [bacille Calmette-Guerin] vaccine,” Mario Raviglione, a global health expert at the University of Milan who headed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global tuberculosis program from 2003 to 2017, tells The New York Times.
The BCG vaccine is typically given to children in countries where the prevalence of TB is high. It is rarely given to adults because it varies in effectiveness in preventing Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes the illness, from multiplying and causing disease in the lungs.
Tuberculosis is now ...
