A new discovery may explain why a tuberculosis vaccine is not as effective for some people as anticipated, and potentially explains why other vaccines do not work as well for some as they do for others. In a research report presented in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, scientists from Singapore show that Mycobacterium chelonae, a common environmental bacterium found in soil and water, can decrease the effectiveness of the bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis, especially in countries outside of the United States.
"Uncovering the reasons why BCG is failing will help researchers in designing new, more effective vaccines against TB," says Geok Teng Seah, PhD, a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Microbiology at the National University of Singapore. "This will give us more tools to fight this globally significant infectious disease."
To make this discovery, scientists studied mice with and without prior exposure to M. chelonae. When subsequently given BCG vaccine, the mice with prior exposure to M. chelonae produced higher amounts of suppressive chemical signals; these chemical signals are believed to reduce the level of immunity induced by BCG vaccine in the host mice. Then the researchers extracted certain white blood cells with known suppressive functions from both exposed and unexposed mice. After transferring these cells into separate groups of unexposed mice, they found that recipients of suppressor cells from M. chelonae exposed mice did not respond as strongly to BCG vaccine as recipients of suppressor cells from unexposed donor mice. This indicates that the suppressor cells from M. chelonae exposed mice are functionally different from those of unexposed mice. Ultimately, the data suggest that these suppressor cells, induced in the host when exposed to M. chelonae, dampen the effectiveness of the BCG vaccine.
"This study sheds important light on why many immunological therapies and vaccines look great in the lab, but fall short in the real world," says John Wherry, PhD, deputy editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. "Humans are exposed to many more non-disease causing bacteria and viruses compared to relatively clean laboratory animals, and as this study shows with a TB vaccine, environmental exposure to one kind of bacteria can influence the efficacy of immunity to different, more dangerous bugs."
How Contaminated Is Your Stretcher? The Hidden Risks on Hospital Wheels
July 3rd 2025Despite routine disinfection, hospital surfaces, such as stretchers, remain reservoirs for harmful microbes, according to several recent studies. From high-touch areas to damaged mattresses and the effectiveness of antimicrobial coatings, researchers continue to uncover persistent risks in environmental hygiene, highlighting the critical need for innovative, continuous disinfection strategies in health care settings.
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25
June 30th 2025Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.
A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides
June 26th 2025As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.