The development of prophylactic vaccines is important in preventing and controlling diseases such as visceral leishmaniasis (VL), in addition to being an economic measure for public health. Despite the efforts to develop a vaccine against human VL caused by Leishmania infantum, none is available, and the focus has shifted to developing vaccines against canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). Currently, commercially available vaccines are targeted at CVL but are not effective. Different strategies have been applied in developing and improving vaccines, such as using chimeric proteins to expand vaccine coverage. The search for patents can be a way of tracking vaccines that have the potential to be marketed. In this context, the present work presents a summary of immunological aspects relevant to VL vaccine development with a focus on the composition of chimeric protein vaccines for CVL deposited in patent banks as an important approach for biotechnological development. The resulting data could facilitate the screening and selection of antigens to compose vaccine candidates with high performance against VL.

The blood-sucking mites Dermanyssus gallinae (“red mite”), Ornithonyssus sylviarum (“northern fowl mite”), and Ornithonyssus bursa (”tropical fowl mite”) stand out for causing infestations in commercial poultry farms worldwide, resulting in significant economic damage for producers. In addition to changes in production systems that include new concerns for animal welfare, global climate change in recent years has become a major challenge in the spread of ectoparasites around the world. This review includes information regarding the main form of controlling poultry mites through the use of commercially available chemicals. In addition, non-chemical measures against blood-sucking mites were discussed such as extracts and oils from plants and seeds, entomopathogenic fungi, semiochemicals, powder such as diatomaceous earth and silica-based products, and vaccine candidates. The control of poultry mites using chemical methods that are currently used to control or eliminate them are proving to be less effective as mites develop resistance. In contrast, the products based on plant oils and extracts, powders of plant origin, fungi, and new antigens aimed at developing transmission-blocking vaccines against poultry mites provide some encouraging options for the rational control of these ectoparasites.

The mites that infest laying hens and broiler chickens in poultry farms have caused great inconvenience to the industry due to the difficulty of controlling or eliminating their populations within the production systems. Dermanyssus gallinae and Ornithonyssus spp. are the mites that mainly interfere with the well-being of the poultry, harming the animals’ health and damaging the production and quality of the end product, with special emphasis on Ornithonyssus sylviarum and Ornithonyssus bursa. The objective of this article is to analyze the impact of hematophagous mites that infest commercial egg and meat production systems, the consequences of this form of parasitism, and discuss the methods of control it, including chemical and non-chemical means with the use of plants, entomopathogenic fungi, diatomaceious earth-based products and synthetic silica, and new lines of study aimed at developing vaccines as a new way of effectively controlling these pests.