A comparison of the molecular biology of trypanosomes and leishmaniae, and its impact on the development of methods for the diagnosis and vaccination of leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

Our main interest have focused on Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis, working in the areas of: 1--The molecular biology of Trypanosomes and Leishmaniae, and 2--The immunology of Chagas disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis and visceral leishmaniasis. In this article we summarize the work realized in the last 20 years in the Immunobiology Laboratory at the IVIC with special emphasis in the development of a vaccine against leishmaniasis that is being currently used in a field trial in human beings of the endemic area of Guatire, Miranda State, Venezuela.