Vaccines against Enteric Infections

Enteric infections cause more than a billion disease episodes per year worldwide and claim nearly two million lives each year, mainly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The global burden of enteric infections is mainly weathered by children below the age of 5 years. However, enteric infections continue to be important causes of morbidity in higher age groups, where cholera, typhoid fever, invasive non-typhoid salmonella and shigellosis remain important causes of deaths in LMIC. Currently, licensed vaccines for human use are limited to two viral (poliovirus and rotavirus) and two bacterial entero-pathogens: Salmonella enteric serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) and Vibrio cholerae.

Research efforts are underway to develop improved typhoid and cholera vaccines for global health and effective vaccines against other major enteric agents, in particular Shigella, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), S. Paratyphi, non-typhoid salmonella, and noroviruses, and Helicobacter pylori. The development of safe and effective mucosal adjuvants and of programmatically sound intervention strategies could enhance the efficacy of current and next-generation enteric vaccines, especially in lesser developed countries which are often co-endemic for enteric infections and malnutrition.

These vaccines must be safe and affordable for the world's poorest, confer long-term protection and herd immunity, and must be able to contain epidemics. In this regard, supply and delivery mechanisms of these global health vaccines are key consideration for effective access, introduction and deployment to reach the people in need.

This Research Topic welcomes submissions covering the following topics:

Burden of disease in LMICs:
- Various enteric diseases considered below
- Impact of environment and climate change

Advances and challenges in vaccine development:
- Cholera
- Typhoid
- Non-typhoid salmonella
- Shigella
- ETEC
- Noroviruses
- Helicobacter pylori
- Controlled human challenge model

Access:
- Supply and role of developing country manufacturers
- Delivery mechanisms and challenges

Keywords: vaccines, enteric infections, low-middle income countries, vaccine development, vaccine access

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.