Shigella Vaccine Development: Finding the Path of Least Resistance
Abstract
Shigellaspp. represent the second most common etiologic pathogen causing childhood diarrhea in developing countries. There are no licensed Shigellavaccines, and progress for such vaccines has been limited. In this issue of Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, Riddle and colleagues (M. S. Riddle, R. W. Kaminski, C. Di Paolo, C. K. Porter, R. L. Gutierrez, et al., Clin Vaccine Immunol 23:908â917, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/CVI.00224-16) report results from a phase I study of a parenterally administered monovalent O-polysaccharide âbioconjugateâ directed against Shigella flexneri2a. Ultimately, the goal is to develop a broad-spectrum Shigellavaccine to address this public health concern. A parenteral Shigellavaccine capable of eliciting protection in children of developing countries would be an important tool to reach this goal.