A protein which could be targeted as a possible tuberculosis vaccination has been discovered by scientists at the Imperial College London.
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease of the lungs that kills approximately two million people worldwide each year. At present the only vaccination for TB is the BCG jab, however this is not completely effective. Most of the world’s population have had the BCG vaccination however there are still more than 9 million new cases of TB each year, showing the importance of a new vaccine.
Researchers from the Imperial College London are studying new proteins which could be used in vaccines to start an immune response, providing long term protection against the bacterium that causes TB, mycobacterium Tuberculosis. The new protein that has been identified is called EspC, and is secreted by the bacterium provoking a very strong immune response. The findings mean that the new protein could be a possible vaccine candidate in the future, although it could take at least 10 years to discover if this vaccine would work better than the current BCG.
Tuberculosis is transmitted via droplets from the lungs of people with the active form of the disease. Symptoms of TB include coughing, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. In the UK, around 9,000 cases of TB are reported each year, with most cases occurring in big cities.