(ANSA) - ROME, AUGUST 23 - A new strategy has been identified to develop an effective vaccine for a very common form of tuberculosis. This is the result of a work by researchers from Purdue University and the Houston Methodist Research Institute published in Cell Reports Medicine. Scientists have created a new formulation that would improve the development of tuberculosis-specific immune responses.
"Our vaccine approach is equally effective without or with a previous vaccination," said Suresh Mittal, a professor of virology at Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine. The experimented administration is via the nasal route.
Now, according to American scholars, we will move on to work on non-human primate models, which could be the basis for experimentation on humans. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a leading cause of death worldwide, with over 1.5 million deaths each year. About one third of the world's population is infected with the latent form of Mtb.
Currently Bcb (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) is widely used as a vaccine against tuberculosis but has variable protection against neonatal and adult pulmonary tuberculosis. (HANDLE).