Stopping Hookworm

Stopping Hookworm As trials get underway in Brazil, Peter Hotez and his colleagues are hoping their vaccine will put an end to a parasite's evasive immune maneuvers - and its devastating morbidity. By Merrill Goozner Related Articles 1 "The likelihood of success is not very high. This is a complex parasite that has evolved over a million years." In 1989, Hotez moved to Yale University, where he conducted most of the early scientific w

Merrill Goozner

Jul 1, 2007 | 10+ min read

Stopping Hookworm

As trials get underway in Brazil, Peter Hotez and his colleagues are hoping their vaccine will put an end to a parasite's evasive immune maneuvers - and its devastating morbidity.

By Merrill Goozner

"The likelihood of success is not very high. This is a complex parasite that has evolved over a million years."

In 1989, Hotez moved to Yale University, where he conducted most of the early scientific work aimed at identifying a vaccine target. His early epidemiologic studies in China had revealed a wide variation in the number of worms among people who were routinely exposed to the parasite. He also knew from his early days as a graduate student that an attenuated larvae vaccine for canine hookworm had been developed in the 1960s and 1970s. Its manufacturer discontinued making it in 1975 after only a few years on the market, citing poor sales....

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Stopping Hookworm

As trials get underway in Brazil, Peter Hotez and his colleagues are hoping their vaccine will put an end to a parasite's evasive immune maneuvers - and its devastating morbidity.

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