**7. Livestock cysticercosis vaccinations**

Researchers have developed subunit vaccines against echinococcosis and cysticercosis based on ovine and bovine protective immune responses after egg challenge or immunization with taeniid oncosphere antigen extracts. In 1989, the first recombinant subunit anti-parasite vaccine (To45W) was generated to fight *Taenia ovis* infections, a nonzoonotic metacestode disease of economic relevance in sheep. Bovine cysticercosis-causing *T. saginata* was found to contain homologous genes, and

### *Introductory Chapter: Taeniasis and Cysticercosis/Neurocysticercosis – Differences, Risk Factors… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112395*

when the produced peptides (TSA-9/TSA-18) were administered intramuscularly to calves with adjuvant, 99% protection was seen against oral challenge with *T. saginata* eggs. This means that the vaccination effectively protected the calves from the disease caused by *T. saginata*. Further efforts have been focused on scaling up the manufacturing of ovine and bovine cysticercosis vaccines so that sufficient quantities and quality-controlled vaccinations are accessible for practical usage. Pigs were also protected against experimental egg challenge infection by a *T. solium* recombinant subunit oncosphere vaccine (TSOL18) for cysticercosis, the most efficient protective vaccination in pigs against *T. solium* cysticercosis [27]. The researchers have focused on scaling up the manufacturing of both vaccines to make them more accessible for practical usage. The study found that pigs were protected against experimental egg challenge infection by a *T. solium* recombinant subunit oncosphere vaccine (TSOL18) for cysticercosis. TSOL18 is the most efficient protective vaccination in pigs against *T. solium* cysticercosis, which makes it a promising candidate for further studies and inclusion in *T. solium* control programs [28–30]. In mice, the expression and immunogenicity of the codon-optimized TSOL18 gene were much higher than those of the unoptimized gene. These findings provide the groundwork for developing an improved TSOL18 gene vaccination against cysticercosis [31]. The TSOL16 antigen (for ovine psoroptic mange control) might be a beneficial addition to existing swine vaccination approaches, allowing for the development of novel *T. solium* cysticercosis vaccine tactics [32]. With oral vaccination, the recombinant pMG36e-SP-TSOL18/*Lactococcus lactis* and pMG36e-TSOL18/*L. lactis* vaccines can trigger specific mucosal, cellular, and humoral immunity in mice. More notably, the recombinant pMG36e-SP-TSOL18/*L. lactis* vaccination produces a stronger immunological response, which reveals the feasibility of employing the *L. lactis* strain as a vehicle to carry *T. solium* protective antigens [33]. Although there have been discussions about the therapeutic immunization of intermediate hosts against *Taenia* larval cysts, it remains in its nascent phases, and more research is needed to develop effective therapies.
