Evelyn Orevaoghene Onosakponome^1* and Ikpeama Roseanne Adah²

¹Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Nigeria
²Department of Medical Laboratory Science, PAMO University of Medical Sciences Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author: Evelyn Orevaoghene Onosakponome, Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State.

Received: June 15, 2026; Published: July 22, 2026

Abstract

Parasitic diseases constitute a significant global health burden, affecting over two billion individuals and contributing substantially to morbidity, mortality, and economic loss in resource-limited settings. Traditional control strategies including mass drug administration, chemotherapy, and vector control have achieved measurable success in disease reduction but increasingly confront critical limitations: the emergence of drug-resistant parasite strains, insecticide-resistant vector populations, and crucially, the absence of durable host immunity following treatment. Immunotherapy approaches, including vaccination, monoclonal antibody therapies, and immune modulation strategies, offer a fundamentally different mechanism by which to address parasitic infection through enhancement of host-mediated parasite elimination and establishment of sustained immunological protection. Recent clinical advances, particularly the World Health Organization approval and real-world implementation of RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix) and R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccines, demonstrate proof-of-concept for immunotherapeutic approaches in endemic populations. This narrative review systematically examines the current evidence base for immunotherapy in parasitic disease control, analysing vaccine development strategies, monoclonal antibody approaches, immune modulation mechanisms, and the parasite-derived immune evasion strategies that constrain immunotherapeutic efficacy. Integration of immunotherapy with conventional public health strategies, supported by technological advances in recombinant antigen production, nanoparticle delivery systems, and artificial intelligence-assisted vaccine design, provides a viable pathway toward sustainable global parasite elimination.

Keywords: Immune Evasion; Immunotherapy; Neglected Tropical Diseases; Parasitic Disease Control; Vaccine Development

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Citation

Citation: Evelyn Orevaoghene Onosakponome and Ikpeama Roseanne Adah. “Immunotherapy as an Emerging Strategy in Parasitic Disease Control and Elimination". Acta Scientific Microbiology 9.8 (2026): 18-27.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 Evelyn Orevaoghene Onosakponome and Ikpeama Roseanne Adah. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.