Abstract

*Idogbe E. Lisimba, Jabari F. Abd El-Aal, Mohamed Abdel-Rahman and Hussein El-Shafey

This study aims to assess the prophylaxis of different single and combined crude antigens used as candidate vaccines in an experimental model of Schistosoma mansoni infection. Cercarial antigen preparation (CAP), soluble worm antigen preparation (SWAP), soluble egg antigen (SEA) and combined antigens (CAP + SWAP + SEA) against schistosomiasis combined with either Freund’s adjuvant or with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) were tested for vaccine efficacy in Albino mice by detecting their effects on worm burden and tissue egg count (liver and intestine). The data obtained showed that, the combined antigens was the most protective with significant reduction in the worm burden (90.28%), and tissue egg load (liver and intestine: 93.67 and 93.98%), respectively. Thus, combining these different antigens (CAP, SWAP and SEA) provides augmentation of the protective immunity compared to each component administered individually. The combination therefore stands out as a potential candidate worth considering in the development of a feasible vaccine against schistosomiasis.