Human hookworm infection remains one of the leading
neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), affecting more than
400 million people living in developing countries and
causing the loss of about 3.2 million disability adjusted
life years (DALYs) [1, 2]. Hookworm is a blood-feeding
nematode that hooks onto the host intestinal mucosa
using sharp teeth or cutting plates, causing significant
host blood loss. As a consequence, hookworm infection
is the major cause of iron-deficiency anemia in endemic
regions [3]. Current control of hookworm infection
mainly relies on mass drug administration with a single
annual dose of an anthelmintic such as albendazole or
mebendazole. However, a recent systematic analysis
revealed that anthelmintic treatment with mebendazole
had no impact on the improvement of anemia in
hookworm-infected regions [4] and is associated with a
low cure rate overall [5, 6], while the cure rates with albendazole were highly variable [7]. Therefore, development
of a vaccine has emerged as a practical and feasible
alternative technology to control hookworm infection or
complement anthelmintic drug treatment [1, 8]. A human
hookworm vaccine is considered both cost-effective
and cost-saving relative to mass drug administration [9].