Schistosomiasis vaccines: Farewell to the God of Plague?

Control and even eradication of schistosomiasis have been achieved in some countries using integrated measures but this disease remains endemic in 74 countries with 600 million at risk of whom 200 million are currently infected. The application of control measures, particularly population-based chemotherapy, has in many countries greatly reduced the incidence of serious disease manifestations, but vaccines are urgently needed to supplement existing control measures. Great advances are being made in vaccine development and the first clinical trials are expected to begin shortly.