In this blog we will take you on a tour around the development of a vaccine against schistosomiasis. Schistosomiasis is a disease caused by a helminth found in water that penetrates the skin. It lays a devastating burden on the lives of hundreds of millions around the world. In the picture below you can see an overview of schistosomiasis. Schistosomiasis is most prevalent in poor and underdeveloped parts of the world such as Africa and South America. Because of this there is only little money available to conduct research into this topic.
For many years now the endemic countries in collaboration with the WHO have tried to limit the spread and prevalence of schistosomiasis. Mass drug administrations of praziquantel and many interventions into the hygiene and living conditions have been tried but all to no avail. Schistosomiasis is still all too common thus a more durable solution has to be found. (1)
The most economically viable option is to produce a vaccination against schistosomiasis. Research into this vaccine has been underway for years but has not yet delivered the desired results. Therefore innovations are called for.
To give you an overview of this topic we will answer following in this blog:
- What is schistosomiasis?
- Which vaccines are being worked on right now?
- What is the quality of the research being conducted into one of the most promising vaccines?
- What innovations could lead to a functional vaccine?
