Open AccessFrancisella tularensis vaccines
Author(s) -
Griffin Kate F.,
Oyston Petra C.F.,
Titball Richard W.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
fems immunology & medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1574-695X
pISSN - 0928-8244
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-695x.2007.00219.x
Subject(s) - francisella tularensis , tularemia , attenuated vaccine , virology , biology , francisella , microbiology and biotechnology , vaccination , immunology , virulence , genetics , gene
Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularaemia, a disease which occurs naturally in some countries in the northern hemisphere. Recently, there has been a high level of interest in devising vaccines against the bacterium because of the potential for it to be used as a bioterrorism agent. Previous human volunteer studies have shown that a strain of F. tularensis [the live vaccine strain (LVS)] that has been attenuated by laboratory passage is effective in humans as a vaccine against airborne disease. However, for a variety of reasons it seems unlikely that the LVS strain will be licensed for use in humans. Against this background there is an effort to devise a licensable vaccine against tularaemia. The prospects for a killed whole‐cell subunit of live attenuated vaccine are reviewed. A rationally attenuated mutant seems the most likely route to a new tularaemia vaccine.