Lyme Disease Microbiology - Vaccines

Vaccines

Due to its universal and high level expression, outer surface protein A (OspA) was the natural focus of early vaccine development efforts. An OspA-based vaccine (LYMErix; SmithKline Beecham) was licensed for use in adults. However, this vaccine was voluntarily removed from the market by its manufacturer in 2002. Recently, considerable progress in the development of broadly protective Lyme disease vaccines has been made. In particular, there is a focus on alternative vaccine candidates that may require fewer boosts and will conceivably provide long term protection. There is interest in developing vaccines that specifically target the tick vectors of Lyme disease, specifically components of tick saliva that coat the bacteria. This approach offers the advantage of protecting against multiple pathogens with one vaccine. While an effective Lyme disease vaccine seems likely to be developed, earlier experiences with the LYMErix vaccine suggest that bringing such a vaccine to market will be a challenge.

A vaccine made by Pfizer known as LymeVax is currently available for use in dogs. Having dogs vaccinated should also help to protect their owners from infection by the dog. The vaccine is a 2-strain, multi-antigen vaccime which induces an antibody response to bacterial proteins OspA and OspC.