Job opportunities for immunologist who desire to work with parasites are likely to increase because of new technical developments in the field and because of new practical applications of this technology. One important thrust in parasite research today is the development of vaccines against parasites of man and domestic animals. The benefits of incurring life-long immunity among individuals and the goal of imparting complete protection to entire populations is an important driving force in the effort to discover vaccines against parasites. The existence of efficacious vaccines against viruses and bacteria provides incentive to immunoparasitologists to develop analogous protection strategies against protists and helminths.

 

However, the realization that these eukaryotic organisms are much more immunologically complex has lead to an appreciation that much more basic research in parasite immunology is required in order to guarantee success in the widespread use of vaccines to control protozoan and metazoan parasites. Yet, with the benefits to mankind that will be forthcoming from the development of useful vaccines, it is apparent that many parasitologists will be employed in this important endeavor. In recent years, the development of specific diagnostic tests for parasites has been one of the major successful applications derived from basic research in immunoparasitology. Clearly, further advances in basic research are on the horizon and application of this new knowledge will benefit both medical and veterinary parasitology.