How Can We Improve the Existing Vaccine for Tuberculosis to Combat the Growing Number of Multi-Resistant Strains?

Each year 1.5 million people die of tuberculosis thus making it the number one killer of all contagious diseases. With the number of multi-resistant tuberculosis growing, currently available treatments are no longer as effective as they used to be. The existing vaccine does not protect against pulmonary tuberculosis which is the most common form of the disease and easily transmittable. In this video, STEFAN H. E. KAUFMANN describes how this existing vaccine was modified to trigger an additional component of the cellular immune response. The researchers showed that it achieved profound reduction of bacterial load in the lung and an excellent safety profile in preclinical studies. The vaccine candidate is currently undergoing clinical trials to be approved for humans.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10207

Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology

The Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology focuses on understanding how microbes cause disease and how hosts respond to this challenge. Its mission is to understand infections by viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and worms of two reasons: they present one of the most significant medical burdens on earth and the interaction between microbes and their host are an essential driver of evolution. To find answers to the fundamental questions of infection biology, the MPIIB brings together scientists from various disciplines. Hence the scale of the MPIIB research spans through the atomic, molecular, cellular, tissular, organismal, clinical and finally social level. The Institute is located at the historical Campus of the Charité Clinic in the heart of Berlin.