Vaccines against protozoan parasites of veterinary importance: A review

Abstract

Protozoan infections in animals are responsible for significant losses of production and many protozoan parasites are of zoonotic importance. Among various parasitic infections, several protozoan parasites cause severe morbidity and mortality in animals and thus affect the economy of livestock in tropical and sub-tropical regions including India. The most common way to combat protozoan diseases is based on using anti-protozoal drugs. However, increasing evidence of anti-protozoan resistance and drug residues in food producing animals has emerged as the major concern for protozoan control programmes in various parts of the world. The most efficient and cost effective way to control protozoan infections is to vaccinate animals to control such infections. Although initial cost of vaccination is high, the long lasting immunity resulting from vaccination of animals offer a cheaper and effective alternative to control such infections. Based on this objective, this review underscores up to date information to the reader to overview on the trends, advances and future prospects of vaccine development against important protozoan disease of livestock and poultry viz, coccidiosis, babesiosis, theileriosis, anaplasmosis to name but a few.