An experimental vaccine protected 54 percent of people with latent tuberculosis from developing the infectious disease, according to a study published Oct. 29 in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The new vaccine, M72/AS01E, was given to more than 3,300 adults with latent tuberculosis in Kenya, South Africa and Zambia. Of 1,626 subjects receiving two doses of the vaccine, only 13 developed active tuberculosis in the following three years, while 26 of the 1,663 given a placebo progressed to active tuberculosis.
The 54 percent success rate is low compared to other vaccines, but could still save millions of people from tuberculosis. About 10 million people get tuberculosis each year and 1.6 million die, making it the deadliest infectious disease in the world.
Administering two doses of the experimental vaccine would be easier than current prevention practice, which requires taking protective antibiotics every day for a month, Dr. Nazir Ismail, chief of tuberculosis research at South Africa's National Institute of Communicable Diseases, told The New York Times. Antibiotics also increases the risk that antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis strains will develop.
Study authors said larger and longer studies should be done in a wider range of populations to assess who should receive the vaccine.
The new vaccine, M72/AS01E, was given to more than 3,300 adults with latent tuberculosis in Kenya, South Africa and Zambia. Of 1,626 subjects receiving two doses of the vaccine, only 13 developed active tuberculosis in the following three years, while 26 of the 1,663 given a placebo progressed to active tuberculosis.
The 54 percent success rate is low compared to other vaccines, but could still save millions of people from tuberculosis. About 10 million people get tuberculosis each year and 1.6 million die, making it the deadliest infectious disease in the world.
Administering two doses of the experimental vaccine would be easier than current prevention practice, which requires taking protective antibiotics every day for a month, Dr. Nazir Ismail, chief of tuberculosis research at South Africa's National Institute of Communicable Diseases, told The New York Times. Antibiotics also increases the risk that antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis strains will develop. Study authors said larger and longer studies should be done in a wider range of populations to assess who should receive the vaccine.