Media Releases
THE CENTENARY INSTITUTE: LEADING THE FIGHT AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS
24 March 2008: Announcing the further expansion of Australia’s largest tuberculosis research group, Professor Mathew Vadas, Executive Director of the Centenary said: “While tuberculosis has been under control in developed countries for over a century, it is still one of the biggest health challenges facing the global community.”
“Two billion people are currently infected with tuberculosis and 1.6 million people die every year – that’s one person dying every 20 seconds.”
With half of all deaths from tuberculosis occurring in Asia, this World TB Day (24 March), it is crucial we continue to tackle this, one of the most pressing health problems in our region says Professor Vadas.
Professor Warwick Britton, head of the Mycobacterial Research Group at the Centenary Institute, explains he and his team are working on many fronts in the fight against tuberculosis.
“Our group is already looking at the reasons people develop tuberculosis, as well as working to improve tuberculosis vaccines,” Professor Britton says. “The expansion we are announcing today will see Centenary allocating more physical laboratory space, more research staff and two exciting new international collaborations.”
Professor Britton says that it is only recently that genetic risk factors have been identified as components in causing latent TB infection to progress to active disease.
“Recently a number of susceptibility genes for tuberculosis were identified, but they do not account for the total risk of developing active disease,” Professor Britton says. “We are starting a Wellcome Trust funded collaborative project with colleagues in Canberra, Paris and the UK to investigate how modified genes change the immune response to the tuberculosis bacterium and the impact this may have on disease progression, from latent infection to active disease.”
“In addition to this, the Centenary Institute is working with the National Tuberculosis Control Program in Vietnam and the Woolcock Institute to study how to improve the control of tuberculosis in Vietnam, a highly endemic region for tuberculosis infection. This is very important for preventing the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis.”
Complementing these two projects, the Centenary team has recently had success in the development of a better vaccine for tuberculosis.
“The current BCG vaccination has limitations and our team has been looking at modified forms of this vaccination and its impact on immunity, with promising results,” says Professor Britton. “A modified form of BCG we have developed is significantly more protective against experimental tuberculosis.”
Professor Vadas says it is extremely exciting that such advances are coming from within Australia and continued investment in Centenary’s facilities and equipment is crucial.
“We will be building a new PC3 laboratory and purchasing new equipment. Additionally, our team of researchers is growing and we will continue to recruit the best people to further our work in tuberculosis,” says Professor Vadas. “We hope that this expansion will help accelerate the pace of Professor Britton’s research – reducing the burden of tuberculosis in our region and around the world.”
Media contact
For more information or to arrange an interview with Professor Warwick Britton contact:
Erin Sharp, Communications Coordinator, the Centenary Institute
p: 02 9565 6118 m: 0431 029 215 e:
