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Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a vaccine primarily used against tuberculosis (TB). It is named after its inventors Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin. In countries where tuberculosis or leprosy is common, one dose is recommended in healthy babies as soon after birth as possible. In areas where tuberculosis is not common, only children at high risk are typically immunized, while suspected cases of tuberculosis are individually tested for and treated. Adults who do not have tuberculosis and have not been previously immunized, but are frequently exposed, may be immunized, as well. BCG also has some effectiveness against Buruli ulcer infection and other nontuberculous mycobacterial infections. Additionally, it is sometimes used as part of the treatment of bladder cancer.
Tuberculosis (TB), also known as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. Around 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kill about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms.
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as a threat, destroy it, and recognize further and destroy any of the microorganisms associated with that agent that it may encounter in the future.
Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract may include anemia, skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, and fatigue. The skin rashes may be due to infections as well as pyoderma gangrenosum or erythema nodosum. Bowel obstruction may occur as a complication of chronic inflammation, and those with the disease are at greater risk of colon cancer and small bowel cancer.
Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as activation immunotherapies, while immunotherapies that reduce or suppress are classified as suppression immunotherapies. Immunotherapy is under preliminary research for its potential to treat various forms of cancer.
Isoniazid, also known as isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH), is an antibiotic used for the treatment of tuberculosis. For active tuberculosis, it is often used together with rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and either streptomycin or ethambutol. For latent tuberculosis, it is often used alone. It may also be used for atypical types of mycobacteria, such as M. avium, M. kansasii, and M. xenopi. It is usually taken by mouth, but may be used by injection into muscle.
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), also known as environmental mycobacteria, atypical mycobacteria and mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT), are mycobacteria which do not cause tuberculosis or leprosy. NTM do cause pulmonary diseases that resemble tuberculosis. Mycobacteriosis is any of these illnesses, usually meant to exclude tuberculosis. They occur in many animals, including humans and are commonly found in soil and water.
Paratuberculosis is a contagious, chronic and sometimes fatal infection that primarily affects the small intestine of ruminants. It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. Infections normally affect ruminants, but have also been seen in a variety of nonruminant species, including rabbits, foxes, and birds. Horses, dogs, and nonhuman primates have been infected experimentally. Paratuberculosis is found worldwide, with some states in Australia being the only areas proven to be free of the disease. At least in Canada, the signs of BJD usually start when cattle are four to seven years of age, and then usually only are diagnosed in one animal at a time. Cattle "with signs of Johne’s disease shed billions of bacteria through their manure and serve as a major source of infection for future calves."
Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is an obligate pathogenic bacterium in the genus Mycobacterium. It is often abbreviated M. paratuberculosis or M. avium ssp. paratuberculosis. It is the causative agent of Johne's disease, which affects ruminants such as cattle, and suspected causative agent in human Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The type strain is ATCC 19698.
An opportunistic infection is an infection caused by pathogens that take advantage of an opportunity not normally available. These opportunities can stem from a variety of sources, such as a weakened immune system, an altered microbiome, or breached integumentary barriers. Many of these pathogens do not necessarily cause disease in a healthy host that has a non-compromised immune system, and can, in some cases, act as commensals until the balance of the immune system is disrupted. Opportunistic infections can also be attributed to pathogens which cause mild illness in healthy individuals but lead to more serious illness when given the opportunity to take advantage of an immunocompromised host.
Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection (MAI) is an atypical mycobacterial infection, i.e. one with nontuberculous mycobacteria or NTM, caused by Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), which is made of two Mycobacterium species, M. avium and M. intracellulare. This infection causes respiratory illness in birds, pigs, and humans, especially in immunocompromised people. In the later stages of AIDS, it can be very severe. It usually first presents as a persistent cough. It is typically treated with a series of three antibiotics for a period of at least six months.
Rifabutin (Rfb) is an antibiotic used to treat tuberculosis and prevent and treat Mycobacterium avium complex. It is typically only used in those who cannot tolerate rifampin such as people with HIV/AIDS on antiretrovirals. For active tuberculosis it is used with other antimycobacterial medications. For latent tuberculosis it may be used by itself when the exposure was with drug-resistant TB.
Giaconda is an Australian biotechnology company headquartered in Sydney. The company was founded in 2004 to commercialise a number of drug combinations developed by Professor Thomas Borody, a Sydney-based gastroenterologist.
Management of Crohn's disease involves first treating the acute symptoms of the disease, then maintaining remission. Since Crohn's disease is an immune system condition, it cannot be cured by medication or surgery. Treatment initially involves the use of medications to eliminate infections and reduce inflammation. Surgery may be required for complications such as obstructions, fistulae, abscesses, or if the disease does not respond to drugs within a reasonable time. However, surgery cannot cure Crohn's disease. It involves removing the diseased part of the intestine and rejoining the healthy ends, but the disease tends to recur after surgery.
Mycobacterium avium complex is a group of mycobacteria comprising Mycobacterium intracellulare and Mycobacterium avium that are commonly grouped because they infect humans together; this group, in turn, is part of the group of nontuberculous mycobacteria. These bacteria cause Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infections or Mycobacterium avium complex infections in humans. These bacteria are common and are found in fresh and salt water, in household dust and in soil. MAC bacteria usually cause infection in those who are immunocompromised or those with severe lung disease.
In biology, a pathogen, in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals is an American biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of synthetic DNA products for treating cancers and infectious diseases. In April 2020, Inovio was among some 100 companies, academic centers, or research organizations developing a vaccine candidate for treating people infected with COVID-19, with more than 170 total vaccine candidates in development.
Vaxart, Inc. is an American biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of oral recombinant vaccines administered using temperature-stable tablets that can be stored and shipped without refrigeration, eliminating the need for needle injection. Its development programs for oral vaccine delivery include prophylactic, enteric-coated tablet vaccines for inhibiting norovirus, seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and human papillomavirus. It was founded in 2004 by Sean Tucker.
John Andrew Crump MB ChB, MD, DTM&H, FRACP, FRCPA, FRCP is a New Zealand-born infectious diseases physician, medical microbiologist, and epidemiologist. He is Professor of Medicine, Pathology, and Global Health at the University of Otago and an adjunct professor of medicine, Pathology, and Global Health at Duke University. He served as inaugural co-director of the Otago Global Health Institute, one of the university's research centres. His primary research interest is fever in the tropics, focusing on invasive bacterial diseases and bacterial zoonoses.
A viral vector vaccine is a vaccine that uses a viral vector to deliver genetic material (DNA) that can be transcribed by the recipient's host cells as mRNA coding for a desired protein, or antigen, to elicit an immune response. As of April 2021, six viral vector vaccines, four COVID-19 vaccines and two Ebola vaccines, have been authorized for use in humans.
References
- ↑ Agrawal, Gaurav; Clancy, Annabel; Huynh, Roy; Borody, Thomas (2020-04-09). "Profound remission in Crohn's disease requiring no further treatment for 3–23 years: a case series". Gut Pathogens. 12 (1): 16. doi: 10.1186/s13099-020-00355-8 . ISSN 1757-4749. PMC 7144342 . PMID 32308741.
- ↑ Qasem, Ahmad; Elkamel, Erij; Naser, Saleh A. (November 2020). "Anti-MAP Triple Therapy Supports Immunomodulatory Therapeutic Response in Crohn's Disease through Downregulation of NF-κB Activation in the Absence of MAP Detection". Biomedicines. 8 (11): 513. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines8110513 . PMC 7698721 . PMID 33217961.
- ↑ Balseiro, Ana; Perez, Valentin; Juste, Ramon A. (2019-02-01). "Chronic regional intestinal inflammatory disease: A trans-species slow infection?". Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 62: 88–100. doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2018.12.001. ISSN 0147-9571. PMID 30711052. S2CID 73449846.
- ↑ Feller, Martin; Huwiler, Karin; Stephan, Roger; Altpeter, Ekkehardt; Shang, Aijing; Furrer, Hansjakob; Pfyffer, Gaby E; Jemmi, Thomas; Baumgartner, Andreas; Egger, Matthias (September 2007). "Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and Crohn's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis". The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 7 (9): 607–613. doi:10.1016/s1473-3099(07)70211-6. ISSN 1473-3099. PMID 17714674.
- ↑ "Crohn's MAP Vaccine". Crohn's MAP Vaccine. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ↑ "The Crohn's Vaccine". Crohn's MAP Vaccine. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ↑ "Putting MAP on the Map". Crohn's MAP Vaccine. Retrieved 2021-06-19.