DNA vaccines for parasitic infections

Abstract

There has been a tremendous explosion in the area of DNA vaccine research over the last 4 years, particularly in relation to antiviral vaccines. This report discusses the development and application of this new technology with regard to parasitic infections. Progress has been made towards the development of a vaccine against malaria, cryptosporidiosis, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis and schistosomiasis. In the future, nucleic acid vaccines will be a useful tool to help control these and other parasitic infections.