Intravenous delivery of the TB vaccine may dramatically improve protection, research suggests

A vaccination against tuberculosis (TB) could be made more effective by injecting it directly into the bloodstream at a higher dose, new research suggests. TB, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the leading causes of infection globally, killing approximately 1.7 million people and infecting around 10 million annually. So far, the only licensed vaccine … Read more

New study highlights the prevalence of resistance genes in Kenya

The bacterial species Klebsiella may contribute to a dangerously high level of antibiotic resistance in Kenya, a recent study suggests. Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study is a collaborative effort between institutions including the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). In many developing nations, the occurrence of … Read more

Researchers uncover the structure of anti-TB drug target, and identify a new weapon against the deadly disease

The fight against TB has taken several promising steps forward – scientists from Rutgers University have not only uncovered vital new information about how rifampicin, the frontline anti-TB drug, binds to its target, but have also discovered a completely new class of compounds that specifically kill TB bacteria. The paper was published in the journal … Read more

A new test to rapidly and accurately diagnose TB infections

A research team has developed a new test which can quickly and accurately show whether someone is infected with TB and, for the first time, how serious the infection is. The team, composed of scientists from Arizona, Washington DC and Texas, developed the test, named the NanoDisc-MS, after a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) consensus … Read more

WHO produces a list of the 12 most dangerous bacteria

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published a list of the 12 bacterial families against which new antibiotics are desperately needed. Unveiling the list on the 27th February 2017, WHO hopes that this list will spur the research and development of new antibiotics at a time when the drugs we’ve come to rely on to … Read more

Gene discovered which can prevent the emergence of drug-resistant TB

New research has highlighted a gene, NucS, which can prevent tuberculosis-causing bacteria from mutating into antibiotic resistant strains. The work was carried out by scientists from the University of Sussex, UK, and the Centro Nacional de Biotechnologia, Madrid, and was published on the 27th January 2017 in Nature Communications. NucS is a gene which is … Read more