Leishmaniasis is a serious
parasitic disease caused by Leishmania spp. transmitted through sandfly
bites. This disease is a major public health concern worldwide. It can occur in 3 different clinical forms: cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and
visceral Leishmaniasis (CL, MCL, and VL, respectively), caused by different Leishmania spp. Currently, licensed
vaccines are unavailable for the treatment of human
Leishmaniasis. The treatment and prevention of this disease rely mainly on chemotherapeutics, which are highly toxic and have an increasing resistance problem. The development of a safe, effective, and affordable
vaccine for all forms of
vector-borne disease is urgently needed to block transmission of the parasite between the host and vector. Immunological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of
Leishmaniasis are complex. IL-12-driven Th1-type immune response plays a crucial role in host protection. The essential purpose of vaccination is to establish a protective immune response. To date, numerous
vaccine studies have been conducted using live/attenuated/killed parasites, fractionated parasites, subunits, recombinant or
DNA technology, delivery systems, and chimeric
peptides. Most of these studies were limited to animals. In addition, standardization has not been achieved in these studies due to the differences in the virulence dynamics of the Leishmania spp. and the feasibility of the adjuvants. More studies are needed to develop a safe and effective
vaccine, which is the most promising approach against
Leishmania infection.