Trypanosomiasis vaccine
A Trypanosomiasis vaccine is a vaccine against trypanosomiasis. No effective vaccine currently exists, but development of a vaccine is the subject of current research. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been involved in funding research conducted by the Sabin Vaccine Institute and others.
There are many obstacles to development of such a vaccine. One obstacle is variant surface glycoprotein which makes it difficult for the immune system to recognize the infectious organism.
Also, Trypanosoma brucei has a direct inhibitory effect upon B cells.
One strategy may involve a vaccine against the initial antigens.
It has been suggested that it may be more productive to generate an immune response against the cysteine protease, rather than the organism itself.
There are two known subspecies that infect humans, Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense.
