Researchers discover a potential vaccine to prevent tuberculosis in people of all ages

In a critical global public health development, a candidate vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) has been created using a gene-editing approach. TB remains the leading cause of death by infectious disease globally, with South Africa having one of the highest incidence rates in the world. While the BCG vaccine used to prevent TB is widely available for infants, no vaccine has shown lasting protection. The BCG is also the only existing effective vaccine. “South Africa committed to the Sustainable Development Goal of ending the TB epidemic by 2030. While we are doing relatively well as a country—TB deaths have come down since 2015—we need to do a lot better to reach the milestones,” says Professor Bavesh Kana. Kana, the Head of the School of Pathology and former director of the Center of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research at Wits University, contributed to the new study published in eLife. The researchers modified the BCG vaccine to make...