A new tool for accelerating tuberculosis vaccine development
Tuberculosis remains a formidable global health challenge, causing substantial morbidity and mortality due to the limited protection in the lungs provided by the current BCG vaccine.1 The urgent need for an effective tuberculosis vaccine has prompted innovative approaches to accelerate vaccine development. One such approach is the use of controlled human infection models, which offer a unique opportunity to evaluate candidate tuberculosis vaccines in a cost-effective manner.2 Although the concept is not new,3 developing such models for tuberculosis research presents unique challenges because the use of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, as a challenge agent is not ethical.