Tuberculosis is probably the most important infectious disease which afflicts mankind.
Over three million people die yearly from tuberculosis, the largest single infectious cause of mortality worldwide. AIDS patients are highly susceptible to infection with M. tuberculosis and other atypical mycobacteria that seldom infect individuals with intact immune systems. Such strains constitute a very serious problem because they cannot be treated with any of the most commonly used anti-tuberculosis antibiotics, resulting in high mortality and rates of transmission. St. Mary's Medical School at Imperial College. Our research on M. tuberculosis centers on cloning and identifying genes of the microbe which are involved in its ability to enter and to survive within macrophages.