Thailand makes moves vs TB with vax, screening technology development
Tuberculosis (TB), one of the world’s worst contagious illnesses, affects thousands of people each day and kills thousands more. Thailand, which was previously one of the world’s TB high burden countries, with an expected TB incidence of 150 per 100,000 in 2020, is currently stepping up its TB control efforts.
Recently, Thailand’s National Vaccine Institute (NVI) announced a collaboration with the US Vaccine Research Center (VRC) to develop novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccines, including breakthroughs in messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
According to reports, a delegation led by Deputy Permanent Secretary Pongkasem Kaimook from the Ministry of Public Health visited the VRC, which has created 15 vaccine types for diverse diseases such as COVID-19, Ebola, and Zika fever. Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences and NVI are joining forces with the VRC to develop a novel TB vaccination mRNA technology. Similarly, the country has been reported to be working on four other vaccines using mRNA technology.
The alliance intends to establish vaccine security in Thailand through the production of locally studied mRNA vaccines, with the VRC also providing Thai researchers with the ability to join worldwide TB control and research networks in order to contribute to global efforts, reports said.
Likewise, Thailand has been working on the Genomics Thailand Strategy Roadmap (2022-2025) to develop genomic medicine, which has been incorporated into the national health program by the Department of Medical Sciences (DMSc).
Meanwhile, researchers at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Allied Health Sciences have developed a TB screening MTB strip test that is simple to use and accurate, as guaranteed by the National Research Council of Thailand’s (NRCT) 2023 Invention Award.
Related: Effective blood test for childhood tuberculosis in the works
The MTB Strip test is sensitive enough to identify tuberculosis in sputum with only a trace amount, and it will show the results. The test procedure also requires no special tools and takes less than an hour.
The MTB Strip Test Kit has two main parts – genetic amplification using isothermal amplification with specifically modified and designed primers; and genetic materials detection using developed test strips, which are manufactured from ISO13485-certified industrial plants for medical device manufacturing.
The researchers hope to increase testing for tuberculosis and related diseases by developing an easier-to-use DNA extraction kit and TB test kit that can identify drug-resistant variations from the start.
