Research for New Drugs against Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the major etiological agent for tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease. TB is the leading cause of single pathogen infection-related deaths with more than 4000 TB-related deaths reported every day worldwide. In 2019, approximately 10 million individuals were diagnosed with TB and an estimated 25% of the population suffered from latent TB. The World Health Organization (WHO) has aimed to reduce TB-related deaths and infections by 90% and 80% by 2030, respectively, when compared with those reported in 2015. To achieve this goal, novel safe, and effective antibiotics must be developed against intracellular, non-replicant, and resistant strains. On the other hand Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitously present in the environment, but NTM diseases occur infrequently. NTM are generally considered to be less virulent than Mycobacterium tuberculosis, however, these organisms can cause diseases in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent hosts. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel drugs for effectively treating MDR-TB, and NTM decreasing the treatment duration, and minimizing the toxicity and cost of the drugs. This Research Topic requires the coordinated effort of multiple scientific disciplines as microbiology, pharmacology, chemistry, medical and correlated. We welcome your contributions on all aspects of novel drugs for treating MDR-TB in this Topic.

Prof. Dr. Fernando Rogério Pavan
Prof. Dr. Alzir Azevedo Batista
Dr. Adelino Vieira de Godoy Netto
Dr. Daniela Fernandes Ramos
Topic Editors