| Summary: | Shigellosis remains a major public health problem around the world; it is one of the leading causes of diarrhoeal disease in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in young children. The increasing reports of <i>Shigella</i> cases associated with anti-microbial resistance are an additional element of concern. Currently, there are no licensed vaccines widely available against <i>Shigella</i>, but several vaccine candidates are in development. It has been demonstrated that the incidence of disease decreases following a prior <i>Shigella</i> infection and that serum and mucosal antibody responses are predominantly directed against the serotype-specific <i>Shigella</i> O-antigen portion of lipopolysaccharide membrane molecules. Many <i>Shigella</i> vaccine candidates are indeed O-antigen-based. Here we present the journey towards the development of a potential low-cost four-component <i>Shigella</i> vaccine, eliciting broad protection against the most prevalent <i>Shigella</i> serotypes, that makes use of the GMMA (Generalized Modules for Membrane Antigens) technology, a novel platform based on bacterial outer membranes for delivery of the O-antigen to the immune system.
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