Dengue fever is one of the deadliest threats to human health. The World Health Organization says that they are close to finding a vaccine. Before now, there has never been a viable vaccine for dengue, and WHO says it is vital.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company is behind the vaccine, called TAK-003. Perhaps most noteworthy is that it is 80% effective, According to The New England Journal of Medicine. The vaccine comes at an important time. Dengue infects 400 million people a year. Consequently, 22,000 people die, according to the Center for Disease Control. The disease “is now endemic in more than 100 countries,” according to WHO.
Furthermore, the only other vaccine that has ever been tested for dengue did not work. Sanofi, the company behind the first vaccine, tested it in the Philippines. Then, Sanofi, the manufacturer said that the vaccine, Dengvaxia, could potentially make dengue worse in those who had received the vaccine, according to NPR.
At the moment, the only real way to prevent dengue is to avoid mosquito bites. The CDC recommends using a mosquito repellent. While not everyone with dengue feels the effects, it is still important to use some form of repellent. If a mosquito bites an infected person, that mosquito will now be a transmitter for the disease, according to the CDC.
For now, TAK-003 needs to be approved before it can be officially used. In the meantime, scientists are close to finding a cure for this deadly disease.
Read here to find out about another groundbreaking vaccine for malaria:
https://americanmedicalcompliance.com/malaria-vaccine-being-tested/
