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Diseases caused by different infectious disease pathogens for which no effective vaccines exist, such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and parasitic helminths remain uncontrolled.19 Attempts at developing vaccines for these diseases have proved challenging for a number of reasons.19 Obstacles that must be overcome include the need for the elicitation of an immune response greater than that induced by natural infection as well as an understanding of mechanisms of protective immunity in humans. Vaccine development against parasitic helminths in particular has been hampered by a poor understanding of the complex interactions between the human host and parasites, including the mechanisms behind protective immunity.An effective vaccine against a complex metazoan schistosome parasite can be developed. This belief is based on the following: (1) the immunization of mice with one dose of irradiated cercariae results in 50% - 70% reduction in adult worm burden which can be increased to over 80% with two or three immunizations20; (2) in non-permissive animal models (e.g., rats and rhesus macaques), worm elimination proceeds via a coordinated immune response by the host21,22; and (3) human populations following exposure in endemic areas invariably develop some degree of protection naturally.23,24 Moreover, this belief is strongly reinforced by the successful introduction of several effective anti-parasite vaccines (both against protozoa and helminths) in veterinary practice.25Vaccinology for human helminth infections is defined by a paradigm that differs from that for bacterial or viral infections. Namely, sterile immunity is likely not achievable, but immunotherapy should confer sufficient levels of protection to reduce worm burdens to an intensity associated with healthy growth and development of children.26 A vaccine that would limit cercariae penetration and/or adult worm maturation would reduce egg accumulation, and thus, control pathology, the major source of morbidity. Additionally, the prevailing opinion is that a vaccine that confers an initial 50% protection in humans should be effective in reducing overall morbidity and mortality,10,15,27 and in all likelihood would be an appropriate first generation schistosomiasis vaccine.28Go to:Possible mechanisms of protectio
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