Roadmap for the development of candidate vaccines for liver fluke

What are we trying to achieve and why? What is the problem we are trying to solve?

Using a replicating organism to give enhanced exposure to protective antigens

What are the scientific and technological challenges (knowledge gaps needing to be addressed)?

• If several antigens are needed to give optimal protection the vector may need to have a relatively large genome.
• That the expressed antigen has the correct conformation
• That revaccination doesn’t result in rapid elimination of the vector

What approaches could/should be taken to address the research question?

Development of a range of genetically modified organisms expressing protective antigens of one or more parasite species either as a secreted entity or as a surface molecule

What else needs to be done before we can solve this need?

Identification of an effective and acceptable vector system
Interdisciplinary collaboration to achieve this

Existing knowledge including successes and failures

There have been no studies to date on vector-expressed vaccines for Fasciola