Stimulation of local antibody production: parenteral or mucosal vaccination?

Mucosal vaccines aim to prevent the penetration of pathogens, including HIV, into the body. Their cost can be low compared with curative therapies and thus, they are well suited to the fight against pandemic diseases in developing countries. Efficacy has been demonstrated for the oral poliovirus vaccine, but only very few other vaccines administered by the mucosal route are available commercially at present. Tremendous research efforts have now improved significantly the classical approach of these vaccines, and alternative methods of immunization, based on new concepts of mucosal immunity, are being developed.