title: New drugs and vaccines for drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections.
abstract: Tuberculosis remains the most common cause of death due to a single infective organism. Despite the availability of a vaccine and chemotherapeutic options, the global disease burden remains relatively unaffected. The ability of the mycobacterial etiological agents to adopt a semidormant, phenotypically drug-resistant state requires that chemotherapy is both complex and lengthy. The emergence of drug resistance has raised the possibility of virtually untreatable tuberculosis. Furthermore, the currently used bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine has had mixed success in protecting susceptible populations. Given this backdrop, the need for novel anti-infectives and more effective vaccines is clearly evident. Recent progress, described herein, has seen the development and entry into clinical trials of several new drugs and vaccine candidates.
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Biomolecular and Biomedical Research Centre, School of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK. lynn.dover@unn.ac.uk
authors.forename: Lynn G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Dover
authors.forename: Apoorva
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhatt
authors.forename: Veemal
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bhowruth
authors.forename: Benjamin E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Willcox
authors.forename: Gurdyal S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Besra
mesh_terms: D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D032581:Tuberculosis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D032581:Tuberculosis Vaccines