Tuberculosis is a global disease that has people running away from it, and those with TB staying behind closed doors. Some of the symptoms are quite clear, like chest pains, coughing up blood and coughing that has lingered for three weeks. But the problem with TB is, even though you don't have those symptoms, its bacteria might be already inside the body - this is called latent TB.

Thankfully, a vaccine for the hibernating bacteria of TB is now in the works and is in fact, almost on its way out. According to Statens Serum Institut and Aeras, a new candidate TB vaccine, which is designed to protect people who are latently infected with the disease from developing it, is now undergoing clinical trials.

The trial vaccine, called SSI H56-IC31, is being developed for both adolescents and adults and its preliminary results of the trial are expected at the end of 2012.

The president and chief executive of Aeras, Jim Connolly, said 2 billion men, women, and children are infected with latent TB and have a 5 to 10 percent chance of becoming sick with TB. Connolly pointed out that a vaccine that prevents TB diseases could save millions of lives.

Along with its principal investigator, Dr. Hassan Mahomed, the trial is being conducted by the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative at its filed site in Worcester, in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Learning About Latent TB

With so many estimated to have latent TB, it is important to get to know more about the hibernating bacteria sleeping inside the body.

For starters, according to Ingrid Koo, PhD, from About.com, those who most need to be concerned about harboring latent bacteria are those who have been exposed to people who have active TB, those who have weakened immune systems, and those who have active symptoms of active TB.

And for those who suspect that they may be infected, they can take a TB skin test wherein a health care worker will inject a small amount of TB under the skin. An immune reaction to the injected extract will result in a swelling that can be detected within two to three days.

Currently, the treatment for latent TB is a six to nine-month course of isoniazid, an antibiotic that kills the bacteria that causes the disease.