'Unexpected' TB breakthrough

A new discovery could provide an unexpected breakthrough in the fight against TB.

Scientists have found that a close relative of the microorganism that causes TB in humans can form spores, which was previously thought to be impossible.

Researchers led by Leif Kirsebom at Uppsala University claimed that the finding may result in new methods of tackling TB being developed, focusing on the latent carrying of the disease.

"This opens a completely new chapter in mycobacteriology. Now we can perhaps understand how mycobacteria 'hibernate' and cause latent infections," he said.

"In our studies we noticed something strange that we wondered about, but it wasn't until I received funding to take up a completely new line of research that we took the opportunity to examine more closely the strange finding that we were seeing."

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the microorganism that causes TB, which was discovered in 1882 by German scientist Robert Koch.

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