International Symposium: New tuberculosis vaccines for the future
VISAVET function: assistant| Organizer: | Fundación Ramón Areces. |
Place: Sede de la Fundación Ramón Areces
City: Madrid
Country: Spain
Date: October 17th-18th, 2011
ProgramSummary
Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of death in the world today. The causative agent of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), is one of the oldest and world/`s most devastating human pathogens. A staggering two billion people are latently infected with the bacterium, and according to the WHO, it causes 9.8 million new cases and approximately 1.8 million deaths each year worldwide. The TB pandemic is being driven by the additional complications of the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extremely drug resistant (XDR) MTB strains, which are virtually untreatable and the increased mobility of the world/`s population intensifies the spread of these strains to the industrialized world. Elimination of TB by 2050 is the ultimate goal for Stop TB Partnership. To achieve this goal, faster diagnostics, better drugs and more effective, safe vaccines are urgently needed. Finding new vaccines is particularly important as studies show that without new vaccines TB can never be eliminated. Vaccines will also be especially crucial in combating MDR- and XDR-TB
