Local Lawmaker Pushes For New Tuberculosis Vaccine

In the wake of a recent tuberculosis scare, some U.S. lawmakers are urging drug manufactures to speed up their search for new tuberculosis vaccines.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said, "Tuberculosis is a health problem. ... What we need to do is make sure that our public health system can respond."

A Congressional report released Tuesday afternoon said tuberculosis sickens 9 million people and kills 2 million people worldwide each year.

In response, some senators now want to spend $300 million to research new treatments and new tests.

Some senators also said they want to change federal rules to help drug manufacturers by allowing any company working on a tuberculosis antibiotic to get fast approval from the Federal Drug Administration.

Dr. Maria Freire, a tuberculosis expert, said new drugs are badly needed.

"The bottom line is we need drugs that work faster and that will attack the resistant disease," Freire said.

Some members of Congress also said they want to investigate how and why government agents allowed Andrew Speaker, who was known to have drug-resistant tuberculosis, to board an airplane.

Hearings are scheduled to take place Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

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-Renee Cardelli & Scott MacFarlane