Changed route of immunization dramatically improves efficacy of TB vaccine

(NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Tuberculosis (TB), an ancient disease, is the leading infectious cause of death globally, yet the world's only licensed TB vaccine, Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), was developed a century ago. Given to infants via a needle placed just under the skin, BCG protects babies from a form of the disease called disseminated TB but is far less effective at preventing pulmonary TB, the major cause of illness and deaths, in teens or adults.