An effective vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) before and after the disease infects the body is being developed by a group of scientists at the Statens Serum Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark.
As we all know TB is a plague that target people living in developing countries, where antibiotics are not available enough to be given to the millions who are already infected.
Yet, surprisingly, TB also showed a sharp increase in the number of developed countries, such as in England. A total of 9000 TB cases emerged in 2009. This triggers the Health Protection Agency to seek a cure for TB ward.
TB itself is a lung disease with cough, chest pain, and loss of weight into its properties. After the attack, the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis that causes TB will continue to hide in the human body.
During this hiding bacteria can become resistant to vaccines. He proceeded to conduct themselves after the reactivation of the vaccine effect was lost. Reactivation of itself can occur even after several decades he was hiding in the body.
BCG vaccine, which is used as an immunization is only effective if it is injected before the bacteria invade the body.
However, as quoted by Medindia, 25 January 2011, new vaccines are made combining protein capable of triggering the immune response against Mycobacterium either active or are in hiding.
The efficacy of this vaccine itself has long been awaited by patients with AIDS who faced death threats if TB because their immune attack has been destroyed.
"The vaccine that can protect against initial infection and also protect the long term is an important breakthrough," said Peter Davies, a professor who is also representative of the team of TB Alert. The report findings about the vaccine itself is published in the journal Nature Medicine.
