A breakthrough in tuberculosis research

Often causing no symptoms in carriers of the disease, worldwide tuberculosis (TB) infects eight to ten million people every year, kills two million, and it is highly contagious as it is spread through coughing and sneezing. 'It's a global health disaster waiting to happen, even here in Canada, but this new paradigm in TB research may offer an immediate opportunity to improve vaccination and treatment initiatives,? explains Dr. Maziar Divangahi of McGill University and of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. The ability of TB bacteria to persist in individuals with apparently normal immune systems implies that they have developed strategies to avoid, evade, and even subvert immunity. The bacteria mainly enter the body through inhalation into the respiratory tract. Alveolar macrophages, a type of white blood cell residing in our lungs, initially recognize the bacteria and engulf them. This process is one of our immune system's defense mechanisms. However, TB has evolved into a parasite that can survive and replicate inside the macrophages until they burst out, spreading the infection.