Like this article?
Get your free daily medical news from Physician's First Watch.
Promising Vaccine Failed to Protect Infants Against TB
By Kelly Young
A once-promising candidate vaccine (MVA85A) for tuberculosis was not effective in protecting infants who had already received the standard BCG vaccine, according to a phase IIb trial in the Lancet.
Roughly 2800 infants in South Africa who had received BCG were randomized to MVA85A or placebo. After a median follow-up of 25 months, there were no significant differences between the groups in the proportion of infants diagnosed with tuberculosis or in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. There were no serious adverse events in the vaccine group.
At first glance, commentators say the results are "disappointing," but they question whether BCG masked the effects of MWA85A and whether other patients groups, such as adolescents or adults, might benefit.
LINK(S):
Lancet article (Free abstract)
Lancet comment (Subscription required)
Published in Physician's First Watch February 5, 2013
Your Remark:
To ensure that your Reader Remark is not formatted as one long paragraph, precede new paragraphs with either a blank line or an indentation.
