Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteriology and immunity necessitate a multi-pronged immune strategy for vaccination.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) continues to kill more individuals each year than any other individual pathogen. Advances in bacteriology and immunology signify that Mtb vaccines need to induce responses from multiple components of the immune system, over and above Th1 responses targeted by most current vaccine candidates. This review provides an update on key features of Mtb bacteriology, host immunity, and discusses how new information is driving novel vaccine designs.