Othman Ahmad A, Soliman Rasha H
Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt; Faculty of Medicine, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.
Acta Trop. 2015 Aug;148:179-90. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2015.04.016. Epub 2015 May 8.
Schistosomiasis has plagued the Egyptian population since the antiquity. The disease is still a public health problem in Egypt, despite the tendency of being overlooked. In the first part of this review, the past and current trends of schistosomiasis in Egypt are reviewed, including history, epidemiology, morbidity, therapy, and control of the disease. Most of these aspects are more or less relevant to other schistosome-endemic regions all over the world. As only one drug is currently available for individual treatment and preventive mass chemotherapy, the quest for complementary measures is urgently warranted. Indeed, one promising approach is the discovery of a vaccine. Herein, we point out the efforts of the Egyptian scientists to develop an efficacious and affordable vaccine against schistosomiasis - a step forward in the battle of elimination of Schistosoma infection. Based on the candidate vaccine antigens, four types of vaccine formulations are discussed: purified antigen vaccines, DNA constructs, attenuated cercariae, and excretory-secretory antigen vaccines. Finally, this review provides insights into this ancient seemingly long-lasting parasitic disease.
自古以来，血吸虫病就一直困扰着埃及民众。尽管该病有被忽视的趋势，但在埃及它仍是一个公共卫生问题。在本综述的第一部分，回顾了埃及血吸虫病的过去和当前趋势，包括该病的历史、流行病学、发病率、治疗方法及防控措施。其中大多数方面或多或少与世界上其他血吸虫病流行地区相关。由于目前仅有一种药物可用于个体治疗和预防性群体化疗，因此迫切需要寻求补充措施。事实上，一种有前景的方法是研发疫苗。在此，我们指出埃及科学家为研发一种有效且可负担得起的抗血吸虫病疫苗所做的努力——这是在消除血吸虫感染斗争中的一大进步。基于候选疫苗抗原，讨论了四种疫苗制剂：纯化抗原疫苗、DNA构建体、减毒尾蚴和排泄分泌抗原疫苗。最后，本综述对这种古老且似乎长期存在的寄生虫病提供了见解。
