Prevention
Over the years many efforts have been made to stop the spread of tuberculosis. From legislation banning spitting in public, to the development of vaccinations, to public screening programs, preventative efforts have sought to inform people about the disease and to stop the spread of the disease.
new developments
Although the BCG vaccine continues to be used around the world, its limitations in consistently preventing tuberculosis in adult populations have led many medical researchers to seek a more effective vaccine.
Aeras, a non-profit product development organization, is at the forefront of the development of a new vaccine. In collaboration with a number of scientific partners, Aeras is working toward the goal of eliminating TB by 2050 through the development of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals. It currently has six new vaccines in trial, including MVA85A, developed by Dr. Helen McShane at the University of Oxford, which is intended to boost immune system response, and Aeras-402/CrucellAd35, which is a replication-deficient adenovirus containing M. tuberculosis antigens and is hoped will boost T-cell responses. In partnership with Statens Serum Institute, in December 2011 Aeras announced a trial for a vaccine (SSI / SP H4-IC31) designed to prevent people with latent TB infections from developing the active disease.
