The Onchocerciasis Vaccine for Africa--TOVA--Initiative

According to a recent analysis in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, between 1995 and 2010, APOC averted more than 8.2 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and will more than double that number by 2015 [3]. [...]the costs of these health benefits are below $500 million, or approximately $27 per DALY averted [3], such that APOC has emerged as one of the world's most cost-effective global public health programs. A recently published study showed feasibility of eliciting significant protective immunity in mice using selected recombinant Onchocerca volvulus antigens produced in yeast or bacteria, including Ov-103, Ov-RAL-2, and Ov-CPI-2M [15]. [...]the Brugia malayi homologous recombinant antigens also elicited protective immunity in gerbils [16] (Klei et al., unpublished).