Pursuing effective vaccines against cattle diseases caused by apicomplexan protozoa

Abstract

Apicomplexan parasites are responsible for important livestock diseases that affect the production of much needed protein resources, and those transmissible to humans pose a public health risk. Vaccines, recognized as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method for the prevention of infectious diseases in livestock, can avert losses in food production and decrease the exposure of humans to zoonotic pathogens. This review focuses on the need for and advances in vaccine development against the apicomplexan parasites Theileria spp., Babesia spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, Eimeria spp., Besnoitia spp., Sarcocystis spp., and Cryptosporidium parvum. Together, the effect of these parasites on the cattle industry worldwide causes an enormous burden, yet they remain poorly controlled and very few effective and practical vaccines against them are available.Vaccine development is hampered by our scarce and limited knowledge of the biology and mechanisms of pathogenesis of these microorganisms, and the absence of correlates of host immune protection. More studies focused on these aspects as well as on the identification of parasite vulnerabilities that can be exploited for vaccine design are needed. Novel “omics” and gene editing approaches in understanding complex parasite biology together with advances in vaccinology will facilitate the development of effective, sustainable, and practical vaccines against cattle diseases caused by apicomplexan parasites. Such vaccines will help prevent animal and human diseases and allow production of enough animal protein to feed the growing human population in the twenty-first century and beyond.