Developments in the design of anti-helminth vaccines

Parasitic helminths are among the most debilitating infectious agents of humans, yet they remain neglected tropical diseases with no effective vaccines that can protect humans from infection. However, the development of efficacious vaccines against some parasites of livestock, along with advances in the understanding of the mechanisms of protective immunity to helminths, provide optimism that anti-helminth vaccines will be developed to limit the burden of human disease. Epidemiological studies of humans and experimental animal models have highlighted the importance of Type-2 immunity in natural and acquired resistance against most helminth species. Here, we describe the progress in the development of vaccines against major parasites of livestock (cestodes, ascarids, blood-feeding nematodes and trematodes) and the major causes of helminthiases of humans (hookworm and schistosomiasis), focusing on how understanding of host immunology and parasite biology has lead to the rational design and subsequent trials of candidate anti-helminth vaccines