
Why don’t we have a good tuberculosis vaccine?
Freya Cook explores the development of a more effective tuberculosis vaccine and the current challenges researchers face.
Freya Cook explores the development of a more effective tuberculosis vaccine and the current challenges researchers face.
Tuberculosis is currently the most deadly infectious disease worldwide, killing an estimated 1.7 million people in 2016. The only licensed vaccine currently available is BCG, which is only 70% effective. While most vaccines work by inducing antibodies, mycobacterium tuberculosis (or Mtb for short) hides inside cells, preventing antibodies from reaching it. T cells, which help…