RESEARCHERS are calling for volunteers to help test a breakthrough vaccination aiming to beat a deadly infection.

Oxford University scientists working at the Jenner Institute on the Churchill Hospital site, have been developing an aerosol vaccine to tackle tuberculosis.

cases of which are rising rapidly in the UK.

The treatment creates a mist that is inhaled, with early results suggesting a better response from the immune system than the existing BCG injection.

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Now the team of researchers is calling for 30 more volunteers after a promising initial trial.

Project leader Prof Helen Mc- Shane said she was excited by the data gathered from the first trial involving 24 people at the Jenner Institute.

The professor of vaccinology and a consultant physician said: “This is the first time anyone in the world has done this.

“There were tests done for animal models showing this is the best way, but this is the first one on people. We have an excellent system and volunteers enjoy the experience.”

Michael Smith, a post-graduate student at St Anne’s College, has volunteered to take part.

The 27-year-old said: “I thought it would be fascinating to do because I am interested in how research is done. I know it is very important that these trials advance research into vaccinations, especially with TB, which is such a problem in some parts of the world.

“It is quite a small time commitment but the benefits are quite considerable.”

Previous vaccines for the infection have involved an injection in the arm, but this is the first of its kind to directly enter the airway.

Prof McShane, who has led the researchers since 2001, praised people who had volunteered for the first trial. She said: “I am very proud of of them, they are a wonderful group of interested, focused people.

“The early data suggests this route into the lungs seems to be stronger than a jab to the arm because in the lungs there is a bigger surface area.”

A spokesman for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust said new vaccinations were needed to treat the infection, which affects the lungs, because existing treatment “is not effective enough in adults”.

He added the Jenner Institute researchers are the only group in the world researching the vaccination, which is funded by the Wellcome Trust and the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.

Prof McShane added: “It remains one of the most important diseases in the world.”

To take part in the trials, go to jenner.ac.uk/tb035-registration