Pockets of Resistance.

MYCOBACTERIUM; MYCOBACTERIAL diseases; TUBERCULOSIS; LUNG diseases; ANTIBIOTICS; VACCINATION; DRUG therapy

This article reports that although only 5% of those exposed to mycobacteria go on to develop acute tuberculosis, many suffer latent infections that have escaped antibiotic treatment and may recrudesce with stress or aging. Researchers tested a combined vaccine-chemotherapy regime for its ability to prevent reactivation of disease in mice infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Subsequent treatment with dexamethasone reactivated the disease in the control groups of mice but not in the vaccinated and antibiotic-dosed mice, suggesting that combining the boosting of the immune response with drugs had eliminated the mycobacteria.