The human hookworm vaccine: recent updates and prospects for success

Approximately 440 million people globally are afflicted by hookworm disease, one of the 17 WHO-recognized neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The iron-deficiency anaemia attributed to this disease contributes to at least 3.2 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) according to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The current WHO-recommended control strategies rely primarily on mass drug administration or preventive chemotherapy. However, evidence is starting to accumulate confirming that preventive chemotherapy alone will not be sufficient to reduce the reinfection rates of hookworm, especially in areas of heavy transmission. The global health and research community is currently building a consensus stressing the need for the advancement of research and innovation to bridge the gaps and identify new public health interventions for diseases such as hookworm and other NTDs. This paper presents the strategies used by the Sabin Vaccine Institute Product Development Partnership (Sabin PDP) in their ongoing endeavour for the development of a human hookworm vaccine. Recent updates and the current prospects for success of an effective human hookworm vaccine, as a new technology to be linked to or combined with drug interventions, are presented.