Amidst a dengue fever situation in Malaysia that has been described as “endemic”, a ray of hope: a vaccine for the deadly disease is almost ready.
After 20 years of exhaustive research, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur has announced the development of a dengue vaccine that can reduce the occurence of haemorrhagic dengue fever cases by 88.5%, and reduce the need for hospitalisation for dengue fever by 66%.
The Star Online‘s Tan Shiow Chin reports Sanofi Pasteur claims those who take the vaccine will be protected from all four common dengue virus serotypes, with effectiveness ranging from 34.7% to 72.4%, depending on the serotype.
At a press conference in Manila, Sanofi Pasteur dengue vaccine research head Nicholas Jackson said, “To put this into perspective, our vaccine has the potential – when licensed and approved with the appropriate coverage – to halve the 50 to 100 million estimated cases of infections a year, and nearly eliminate the estimated 500,000 cases that will develop the severe form of the disease.”
The company would start applying to license the vaccine by early next year, according to vaccine head Guillaume Leroy.
Leroy says Sanofi Pasteur would be able to supply 100 million vaccine doses per year.
According to Leroy, the price of the vaccine would only be determined after discussions with the World Health Organisation and the countries interested in purchasing it, though he said Sanofi Pasteur intended to make it available first in countries suffering the most from dengue.
According to the Health Ministry, Malaysia is currently experiencing an endemic outbreak of dengue fever cases, with 2014 infection numbers so far seeing an increase of 246% year-over-year. 87 people have died from dengue in Malaysia this year.
Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam account for about 70% of dengue cases worldwide.
See Also:
Health Ministry: dengue in Malaysia now at endemic level
Health Ministry reports huge spike in dengue cases and deaths
