Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrhea-associated morbidity and mortality, particularly among infants and young children in developing countries. Still, the true impact on child and traveler health is likely underestimated. There are currently no licensed vaccines for ETEC, but studies indicate high public health impact, cost-effectiveness...

In this short review of the three-day meeting on AIDS vaccine development where numerous scientific advances were described for the first time, it is nearly impossible to capture all of the highlights. Thus, areas such as advances in vaccine adjuvant development, standardized challenge pools for vaccine testing, novel approaches with retroviral vectors for construction of target cells for cellu...

Despite major advances in HIV-1 therapeutics and prevention strategies, the development of a safe and effective prophylactic HIV-1 vaccine will likely be critical for ending the global HIV-1 epidemic. Yet only four HIV-1 vaccine concepts have been tested for clinical efficacy over the past 30 years. In this Commentary, we describe key hurdles facing the HIV-1 vaccine development field and outli...

Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa--the countries known as BRICS--have made considerable progress in vaccine production, regulation and development over the past 20 years. In 1993, all five countries were producing vaccines but the processes used were outdated and non-standardized, there was little relevant research and there was negligible international recognition o...

The development of an HIV vaccine poses an unprecedented challenge to the scientific community. The inexorable spread of HIV worldwide and the devastating clinical consequences of AIDS can only be contained by an effective vaccine. Yet, almost two decades after the first demonstration of HIV and its etiologic role in AIDS, this vaccine still is a goal, not a reality. In this Perspective, I cons...

haemophilus influenzae, a major cause of meningitis in young children leading to death and other neurological sequelae. the disease leaves 15 to 35% of the survivors with permanent disabilities, such as, mental retardation or deafness. despite the availability of new and more powerful antibiotics children with hib meningitis still suffer from high mortality or morbidity. the emergence of multir...

Despite global efforts to control malaria, the illness remains a significant public health threat. Currently, there is no licensed vaccine against malaria, but an efficacious vaccine would represent an important public health tool for successful malaria elimination. Malaria vaccine development continues to be hindered by a poor understanding of antimalarial immunity, a lack of an immune correla...

Vaccine development is a top priority in malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) research. In the case of sheep-associated MCF (SA-MCF) caused by ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2), progress toward this objective has been hindered by the absence of methods to attenuate or modify the virus, since it cannot be propagated in vitro. As an alternative for vaccine development, in this study, we tested the hypothes...