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Prospects for a schistosome vaccine
André Capron1, Gilles J Riveau, Paul B Bartley
1INSERM U 547, Institut Pasteur de Lille, 1 rue du Professeur A. Calmette, 59019, Lille, France. andre.capron@pasteur-lille.fr
Current Drug Targets. Immune, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders
|December 13, 2002
Summary
Chemotherapy for schistosomiasis (a parasitic disease) has limitations. Developing a vaccine is crucial to complement drug treatments, reduce transmission, and provide long-term protection against this chronic infection.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Parasitology
- Tropical Medicine
Background:
- Chemotherapy for schistosomiasis, a chronic parasitic infection, faces limitations due to high re-infection rates and failure to impact disease transmission.
- Current control strategies necessitate frequent mass treatments, highlighting the need for sustainable complementary approaches.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current status of vaccine development against schistosomiasis, focusing on strategies to complement chemotherapy.
- To explore aspects of anti-schistosome protective immunity relevant to vaccine design and identify new targets for immune intervention.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on schistosomiasis control, chemotherapy limitations, and vaccine development strategies.
- Analysis of research on protective immunity against Schistosoma mansoni, S. haematobium, and S. japonicum.
Main Results:
- Vaccination is identified as a necessary complementary approach to chemotherapy for sustained schistosomiasis control.
- Vaccine strategies can target infection prevention, reduction of worm burden (gold standard), or parasite fecundity and egg viability, which are crucial for reducing pathology and transmission.
Conclusions:
- A dual approach combining chemotherapy for short-term worm burden reduction and vaccination for long-term immunity is essential for effective schistosomiasis control.
- Further research into anti-schistosome immunity and novel vaccine targets is needed to improve vaccine efficacy and impact disease transmission and pathology.