Vaccines against schistosomiasis: where do we stand?

The possibility of vaccination against schistosomiasis has been repeatedly proposed and promised for so many years that, for those not actively engaged in the field, a degree of scepticism might seem justified. Over the past few years, steady and substantial progress has been made. This has recently been reviewed in detail by BERGQUIST, and the present article summarizes briefly the current situation and some future questions and problems that need to be resolved. The comments are equally applicable to all 3 main species of schistosome that affect man (Schistosoma mansoni , S. haematobium and S. japonicum ), although this article deals primarily with S. mansoni .