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Researchers have found a potential TB vaccine for all age groups
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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In a major global public health event, a candidate vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) has been created using genetic engineering.
TB remains the leading cause of death from infectious diseases worldwide, with South Africa having one of the highest rates of the disease.
Although the BCG vaccine used to prevent TB is widely available for infants, no vaccine has been shown to provide long-term protection. BCG is also the only effective vaccine available.
“South Africa has committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of ending the TB epidemic by 2030. While we have made significant progress as a country – the number of TB deaths has fallen since 2015 – we need to do much more to reach our targets,” says Professor Bawesh Kana.
Kana, head of the School of Pathology and former director of the Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Tuberculosis at Wits University, made a significant contribution to the new study, published in the journal eLife.
The researchers modified the BCG vaccine to make it more effective at controlling the growth of M. tuberculosis. Mice that were given the modified BCG vaccine had less M. tuberculosis growth in their lungs compared to mice that received the original vaccine.
"We can now propose a new vaccine candidate in the fight against this deadly disease," says Kana. "The work also demonstrates that genetic engineering is a powerful way to develop vaccines. This is especially important for researchers working on vaccine development."
About the vaccine against tuberculosis
The BCG vaccine is given to children at an early age and is effective in preventing TB disease. However, BCG does not protect adolescents or adults and has not been effective in eradicating TB.
This has created a need to develop new TB vaccine candidates to replace or enhance the action of BCG.
"We also see that BCG can evade the immune system, which reduces its effectiveness as a vaccine," says Kana, noting that the importance of vaccines cannot be overstated.
When people become sick, the body's immune system recognizes certain features called PAMPs (pathogen-associated molecular patterns) on the surface of bacteria, viruses, or other harmful microorganisms.
This helps the body distinguish between foreign cells and its own, and then begin fighting the infection.
Vaccines work by mimicking germs to trigger the first line of defense without causing disease.
Kana lamented the lack of funding to develop tools to eliminate TB, a disease that has been around for more than 9,000 years. "Until recently, our diagnostic approaches were 100 years old. With the advent of new vaccine candidates, we can finally adequately combat this devastating disease."