Development of Vaccines against Tuberculosis: One Health Approach

Dear Colleagues,

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health challenge of global concern, and the corresponding disease in animals (zoonotic TB) represents a fraction of human TB cases, especially in areas where it is endemic and where people live in direct contact with infected animals. Domestic and wild animals are infected throughout the world with Mycobacterium bovis and other species of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). The disease caused by these bacteria is economically devastating for farmers. In cattle alone, TB affects over 50 million animals worldwide; threatens productivity; and results in economic losses in the livestock sector, with a major impact in the poorest communities. Effective vaccination that provides protection against TB in target species and accurate early diagnosis of the disease is essential to combat this deadly disease.

New vaccine platforms (live recombinant or inactivated whole mycobacteria, viral-vectored or subunit vaccines, nano-particles, etc.) and vaccination strategies (single-dose, heterologous prime-boost, revaccination, and post-exposure) have been the focus of extensive research in the past two decades to achieve a more effective vaccine candidate than Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) alone. In animals, this research has been prospected in combination with early diagnosis and removal of infected animals or as an alternative to a “test and cull” strategy in settings where slaughtering of infected animals is economically unaffordable or culturally or unacceptable, or where affected species are protected.

This Special Issue focuses on recent research and development of vaccines against human and animal TB. We particularly encourage you to contribute with an original article or review to highlight (i) recent advances in novel prophylactic and post-exposure TB vaccines; (ii) animal models, delivery modalities, immune responses to vaccination, and correlates of protection; (iii) development of vaccination-compatible diagnoses (DIVA); and (iv) field trials.

Dr. Bernat Pérez de Val
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• tuberculosis
• one health
• zoonosis
• vaccines
• animal models
• efficacy
• safety
• immune responses
• BCG
• DIVA