The vaccine, the first of its kind for 80 years, is needed following a global rise in TB outbreaks. In the UK alone, there has been a 10% rise.
Bacille Calmette-Guerin, or BCG, is the current standard TB treatment. Some pharmaceutical companies have looked at reformulating this vaccine, as it is thought to be only effective in treating children and severe forms of the disease. As well as this, multi-drug resistant strains of the disease are on the increase, and a vaccine is needed for those with both TB and HIV.
“We can no longer rely on antibiotics to treat the disease – we need to help the body’s immune system prevent disease,” Dr Helen McShane, the vaccine’s co-developer, commented.
This new vaccine, known as MVA85A, works as a booster to the BCG jab. Tests so far have shown that it produces an increased immune response up to 20 times higher than the standard BCG vaccine.
The Phase II trial in South Africa, where one in 100 infants contracts TB, is designed to give further evidence as to whether the booster, working in tandem with BCG, provides better protection for adolescents and HIV-infected adults than BCG alone.