There has been a tremendous explosion in the area of DNA vaccine resea
rch over the last 4 years, particularly in relation to antiviral vacci
nes, This report discusses the development and application of this new
technology with regard to parasitic infections. Progress has been mad
e towards the development of a vaccine against malaria, cryptosporidio
sis, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis and schistosomiasis. In the future,
nucleic acid vaccines will be a useful tool to help control these and
other parasitic infections.