Vaccines

Two vaccines which were initially commercialized are not available anymore. The first one was launched in Brazil and was based on a fucose-mannose ligand enriched with glycoprotein 63 with a saponin adjuvant and the second one, the first launched in Europe, was based on purified excreted/secreted antigens of L. infantum combined to a saponinlike adjuvant.

The only currently available vaccine in Europe contains the active substance “protein Q”, a recombinant protein containing five different antigens from L. infantum without an additional adjuvant. First vaccination is a single injection. Booster injections are given annually.

The vaccine available in Europe can only be injected to healthy seronegative dogs, 6 months of age or older, tested by a quantitative serological assay.

A new DNA vaccine based on the non-replicative antibiotic resistance marker-free plasmid vector pPAL which contains an encoding gene for the L. infantum activated protein kinase C receptor analogue (LACK) has been approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2023. This vaccine can only be administered via intranasal, to healthy dogs of 6 months of age or older.

All of these vaccines do not prevent infection but do alter disease progression and the probability of progression to clinically overt disease.