Research on the therapeutic use of parasites has been ongoing since the development of the “hygiene hypothesis”. Parasites can stimulate the Th2-dependent response and suppress the Th1-dependent response, which is intensified in many diseases, especially allergic and autoinflammatory ones. In this review, we present the types of parasites used in helminth therapy and the range of diseases in which they may be useful. We also present the results of clinical trials conducted so far, which confirm the safety of such therapy and provide promising outcomes.

The increasing prevalence of Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), and other tick-borne infections such as Babesia, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and Anaplasma is a growing public health concern. Existing tick bite prevention strategies are insufficient; therefore, vaccines represent a promising preventive measure. At the moment, only a vaccine for tick-borne encephalitis is available on the market. A vaccine for Lyme disease, however, is at an advanced stage of clinical trials. In this article, we focus on describing the progress in the invention of vaccines for tick-borne diseases. This article analyzes their development and effectiveness.