[Challenge of developing anti-parasite vaccines in the tropics]

Much effort has been devoted to developing anti-parasite vaccines. The main obstacles to overcome involve problems in cultivating parasites, variability in antigens of cultivated parasites, insufficient immune responses that do not provide full protection, lack of animal models and difficulty in evaluating immune protection acquired naturally or after vaccination in populations living in endemic areas. Numerous clinical trials have been conducted and several parasite antigens, in particular against malaria, have been tested in endemic areas. Up to now no candidate vaccine has shown sufficient, long-term efficacy to justify its inclusion in public health program. However trials using anti-parasite vaccination under both experimental and field conditions clearly demonstrate that a certain level of clinical immunity against malaria, bilharziasis, and leishmaniasis.