Listen to audio: Tuberculosis vaccine

Duration: 12:57

Tuberculosis (TB) is a deadly lung disease caused by inhaling an airborne bacterium. TB causes weight loss, night sweats and coughing (sometimes producing blood). Every year, the disease kills about 2 million people and infects more than 8 million. It’s estimated that one New Zealander each day is diagnosed with TB. Without an effective vaccine or other preventative measures, this figure is expected to rise.

TB bacteria in the lung

It’s 100 years since the first vaccine was developed to treat tuberculosis (TB), and it protects only a proportion of the population. At the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, scientists are trying to develop more effective TB vaccines.

Ruth Beran meets Jo Kirman from the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research who is looking at particular immune system cells, called T cells, to create a better vaccine to prevent tuberculosis infection. Dr Kirman explains the methods they are using to develop new vaccines and gives an insight into the world of the CD4+ T cells that are needed in the lungs to help fight TB.

Programme details: Our Changing World

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