Production of inactivated wet rural leishmania vaccine against leishmania major

ABSTRACT

The L. major promastigotes were harvested at the stationary phase and inactived with thimerosal or through freeze-thawing and autoclaving methods. No degradation of promastigotes' proteins was seen through autoclaving method. Trial vaccine was produced and delivered to the Ministry of Health and WHO-TDR Office in Tehran to be evaluated on human volunteers in endemic areas [Iran, Pakistan and Sudan]. Safety and immunogenicity tests on volunteers were satisfactory. The potency test is under evaluation, should it render satisfactory results, the vaccine will be suitable for prevention of L. major, L. tropica and L. donovani infections