Washington, D.C., March 27, 2024 — With resistance to chemical antibiotics on the rise, the world needs entirely new forms of antimicrobials. A new study published in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, shows that an enzymatic cocktail can kill a variety of mycobacterial species of bacteria, including those that cause tuberculosis. The research was carried out by scientists at Colorado State University and Endolytix Technologies.

Washington, DC - February 11, 2019 - A new experimental antibiotic for tuberculosis has been shown to be more effective against TB than isoniazid, a decades-old drug which is currently one of the standard treatments. In mouse studies, the new drug showed a much lower tendency to develop resistance, and it remains in the tissues where the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria reside for longer, killing them more effectively. The research is published February 11 in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.  

Washington, DC – January 3, 2018 – Studies in mice and in tissue cultures suggest that giving vitamin C with tuberculosis drugs could reduce the unusually long time it takes these drugs to eradicate this pathogen. The research is published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Washington, DC – August 29, 2017 – Researchers have demonstrated a new, improved version of the Xpert  MTB/RIF assay, a test for Rifampicin-resistance (RIF-R). The Xpert “Ultra” assay overcomes the shortcomings of the current Xpert assay to significantly improve tuberculosis detection, especially in patients with pauci-bacillary disease. The new Xpert Ultra assay also provides a more reliable detection of Rifampicin resistance (RIF-R). The research is published this week in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Washington, DC - January 13, 2017 - A clever new tuberculosis vaccine has shown promise in trials in mice. If it succeeds, it will be the first new TB vaccine in a century. With the rise of multidrug resistant tuberculosis, the difficulty of curing the disease, and the large annual death toll, a successful vaccine could be a huge benefit to public health--especially in low- and middle income countries. The research is published January 13th in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Aminoglycosides, recommended by the World Health Organization to treat multidrug resistant tuberculosis, cause hearing loss and kidney damage in a dose dependent manner. Now, by reducing the dose in a carefully calculated fashion, Dutch clinician researchers have been able to greatly reduce the numbers of patients suffering hearing loss, without compromising effectiveness against tuberculosis. The research was published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Washington, DC - May 10, 2016 - Scientists have discovered a new species of bacteria, Mycobacterium mungi, that causes tuberculosis (TB) and is transmitted through the skin and nose of banded mongoose in Northern Botswana. The findings, published May 10 in the journal mBio, have radically changed scientists understanding of how tuberculosis can be transmitted.