[New vaccines in the age of genetic engineering]

The era of genetic engineering is merely 20 years of age, yet has already borne completely new perspectives for vaccine development. Important insights are gained by elucidating the genetic information of a disease-causing microorganism and its pathogenic and attenuated variants. Site-directed mutagenesis can then be employed to specifically alter the genetic information in a variety of ways. Upon transfer of the corresponding gene to pro- or eucaryotic cells, large quantities of microbial components can be produced. A new generation of such subunit vaccines is already undergoing clinical testing. Recently, hybrid vaccines have been constructed, which utilize highly successful traditional live vaccines such as polio- and vaccinia-virus or the Tbc-bacterium as carriers for components of other microorganisms. We should bear in mind that the same new technologies can be abused for the construction of potentially dangerous biological weapons. The scientific community bears the responsibility to prevent such abuse and to lobby for an easy access to the new vaccines by the world's poorest inhabitants.