Front lines in the fight against tuberculosis

Dec 9th, 2009 5:17 PM UTC
By Sydney Skov

Today on Capitol Hill, the Global Health Council held a special panel to discuss the work being done in the global fight against tuberculosis. Production of a new vaccine is underway and three distinguished speakers, Dr. Videlis Nduba, Dr. Harriet Mayanja-Kizza, and Dr. Sizulu Moyo outlined the considerable impacts of the disease and what organizations in Africa are doing to produce a safe and effective vaccine.

With the rise of HIV infection, instances of tuberculosis have also increased as those with weakened immune systems cannot fight off the disease. Dr. Sizulu of the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative pointed out that in 2007, 73% of new Tuberculosis infections were in those who already had HIV. She also reminded the audience that this is no longer a disease only affecting the developing world as the bacteria can easily be carried, spread through the air, and contracted without the carriers expressing symptoms.

A new tuberculosis vaccine is vital. Diagnostics for the illness are over 100 years old and the current vaccine for TB is 90 years old and protects only some children and no adolescents or adults. However, investigations for a new vaccine are making progress. Dr. Nduba of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) is hopeful that a vaccine may be available as early as 2016. KEMRI along with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also use mobile facilities, mobile ex-ray trucks, and laptops to screen thousands of adolescents and infants in Kenya for TB. Dr. Mayanja-Kizza, Professor of Medicine at Makerere Uninversity in Uganda, spoke of the University’s partnership with AERAS Global TB Vaccination Foundation. Along with building clinics, the organizations train field workers, nurses, and community leaders to ride motorcycles into communities to screen infants for the disease and sensitize communities to information on TB.

The South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI) established in 2001, is at the forefront of vaccine research in developing a safer, more effective TB vaccine. Dr. Sizulu mentioned that such a discovery between 2014 and 2018 could reduce TB in Africa and Asia up to 40% by 2050. There is still much work to be done but the fight against tuberculosis is gaining ground in Africa.

TAGS: Global Health Council, Policy News, Tuberculosis