First ever vaccine for deadly parasitic infection may help prevent another global outbreak

As the threat of the Zika virus rips through the Americas and news headlines, another more deadly tropical disease is also on the move: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection that currently endangers an estimated 350 million people around the world. By combining two decades of research, ancient tribal medicine and the latest in gene editing technology – a team of scientists is creating what could be the first ever live-attenuated vaccine to prevent Leishmaniasis both here and abroad.