Human cytomegalovirus vaccines

Excerpt

Efforts to develop a human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) vaccine began more than 30 years ago in response to then recent reports that HCMV was capable of causing severe congenital disease. During the intervening years, our understanding of HCMV biology and immunology has increased dramatically. That knowledge, coupled with the introduction of several new vaccine methodologies, opened the door to an impressive expansion of HCMV vaccine research, particularly during the past decade. This chapter focuses on the principles underlying HCMV vaccine development and on the vaccine approaches that are currently under investigation.