Towards vaccination: what progress?

Abstract

At the time of the previous edition of this book, 2 years ago, many important pieces of information were available which indicated that an effective vaccine against Helicobacter pylori was a realistic possibility. In animal models it had been proven possible to immunize mice with antigen plus adjuvant, and protect them against future challenge with H. felis1,2a species of Helicobacter isolated from the cat3. Perhaps most importantly, this mouse model was used to demonstrate that it is also possible to clear a current infection with a therapeutic immunization4,5. This is vitally important for any attempt to control H. pylori infection, as over half the world’s population is already infected w..