Vaccines Against Sexually Transmitted Infections Promise and Problems of the Magic Bullets for Prevention and Control
Abstract
REALISTIC POSSIBILITIES FOR vaccines against sexually transmitted organisms are growing rapidly. Despite slow progress and disappointments, the remarkable growth in the understanding of the biology of sexually transmitted organisms and the mechanisms by which infection causes disease continue to fuel a great deal of optimism. The only sexually transmitted infection (STI) for which a vaccine is currently available is hepatitis B; however, efforts are underway to develop vaccines for several other sexually transmitted organisms, including Neisseria gonorrhea, Chlamydia trachomatis, herpes simplex virus (HSV), human papilloma virus, and HIV. 1–5 The health and economic costs for these STIs are high, and effective vaccines for these infections have the potential to be invaluable disease-prevention tools.