Diseases caused by protozoan and helminth parasites are among the leading causes of death and disease in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Efforts to control the invertebrate vector (carrier, such as the mosquito) of these diseases are often difficult due to pesticide resistance, concerns regarding environmental damage and lack of adequate infrastructure to apply existing vector control methods.
No vaccines are currently licensed to prevent or control the spread of parasitic diseases. Thus, control of these diseases depends heavily on the availability of drugs. Unfortunately, most existing therapeutics are either incompletely effective or toxic to the human host.
In a number of cases, even safe and effective drugs are failing as a result of the selection and spread of drug resistant variants of the parasites. This is best dramatized by the global spread of drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum, the organism responsible for the most lethal form of malaria. New therapeutic agents are therefore urgently needed.
Research