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Drug Quality &Research &Vaccine Bill Brieger | 10 Feb 2013 06:50 am

TB setbacks: lessons for malaria control

Tuberculosis is one of the big three receiving Global Fund support, and like HIV and malaria control efforts, the emphasis is on multiple interventions to ensure ultimate success. Compared to the other diseases, TB’s interventions have been mainly limited to immunization and directly observed treatment. Both of these interventions have recently met some major challenges that have also plagued the other big diseases.
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Roger Bate and colleagues, who have focused on the problems of fake and substandard malaria drugs have turned their attention to TB. (see http://masetto.ingentaselect.co.uk/fstemp/a5829970064042ab6ec12023d514ef4f.pdf ). Their investigation at pharmacies in 19 Asian and African countries found around 9% of TB drugs were substandard/poor quality. The rate of fake medicines was 16% in Africa and 10% in Asia.

Governments in these countries were encouraged to give these issues greater attention including better regulation and collaboration with international policing efforts.

The need for new vaccines is a necessary development to maintain a strong disease control arsenal. For TB, “A new vaccine, modified Vaccinia Ankara virus expressing antigen 85A (MVA85A), was designed to enhance the protective efficacy of BCG.” (as reported in The Lancet http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960177-4/abstract )

As the BBC report on this study pointed out, “BCG is only partially effective against the bacterium that causes TB, which is why several international teams are working on new vaccines.” (see BBC at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21302518 )

While the new vaccine “… was well tolerated and induced modest cell-mediated immune responses. Reasons for the absence of MVA85A efficacy against tuberculosis or M tuberculosis infection in infants need exploration.” Fortunately research on other vaccine candidates is underway.

Continued control and eventual elimination of malaria and TB will require research that is both basic (vaccines) and applied (drug quality) in order to develop, maintain and implement effective strategies. Disease research budgets should not be compromised in the ever changing world of pathogen/parasite evolution.

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