[Future vaccines]

Powerful genetic and immunological techniques allow the production of new vaccines. Recombinant proteins and synthetic peptides represent new categories of subunit vaccines, illustrated, respectively, by recombinant hepatitis B vaccines and a peptide-derived malaria vaccine. Virus and bacteria can be used as vectors of foreign genes encoding antigens of vaccinal interest, to build-up new forms of live vaccines. One may expect from these new strategies of vaccine production a better control of viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases and a dramatic change in vaccine recommendations for children and adults.