Vaccine development for syphilis.
Syphilis, caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, continues to be a globally prevalent disease despite remaining susceptible to penicillin treatment. Syphilis vaccine development is a viable preventative approach that will serve to complement public health-oriented syphilis prevention, screening and treatment initiatives to deliver a two-pronged approach to stemming disease spread worldwide. Areas covered: This article provides an overview of the need for development of a syphilis vaccine, summarizes significant information that has been garnered from prior syphilis vaccine studies, discusses the critical aspects of infection that would have to be targeted by a syphilis vaccine, and presents the current understanding within the field of the correlates of protection needed to be achieved through vaccination. Expert commentary: Syphilis vaccine development should be considered a priority by industry, regulatory and funding agencies, and should be appropriately promoted and supported.
a Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology , University of Victoria , Victoria , Canada.
Karen V
KV
Lithgow
a Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology , University of Victoria , Victoria , Canada.
Caroline E
CE
Cameron
D000818:Animals; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D013587:Syphilis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014210:Treponema pallidum / Q000276:immunology*
D001428:Bacterial Vaccines
HIV co-infection; Syphilis; cellular immunity; congenital syphilis; cross-protection; humoral immunity; men who have sex with men; vaccine