Present status of antileishmanial vaccines.

The term leishmaniasis refers collectively to various clinical syndromes that are caused by obligate intracellular protozoa of the genus Leishmania. Approximately 350 million people in 8 countries are estimated to be threatened by the disease. The World Health Organization estimated that there are 12 million cases of all forms of leishmaniasis worldwide, with over 500,000 new cases of visceral disease occurring each year. Most of the drugs commonly used to treat different forms of leishmaniasis are toxic and have unacceptable side effects. Moreover, cases of drug resistant leishmaniasis are on the rise. Due to non-existence of effective vaccine to date, improved immunoprophylactic approaches still remain desirable to combat leishmaniasis. Antileishmanial vaccines developed around the globe are discussed.