Tuberculosis vaccines: developmental work and the future.

The last year in tuberculosis vaccine research has witnessed the initial flowering of the benefits promised by the tuberculosis genome sequencing product. Although the real benefits in terms of clinical treatments are yet to be realized, genomics is making its presence felt in the rapid identification and expression of proteins with vaccine potential from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the definition of species-specific antigens for diagnostic use, and the construction of a variety of novel living vectors for vaccination. At the same time, the recent increase in work on animal models with more direct applicability to the situations likely to be encountered in human vaccine trials are providing the basic underpinnings needed for the assessment of these new vaccines.