Thứ Năm, 15/10/2015, 16:42 (GMT+7)

Dengue fever vaccine tests prove positive

Dengue fever vaccine tests in the past five years in Vietnam have shown real promise, according to the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health.

Dengue fever vaccine tests in the past five years in Vietnam have shown real promise.

The tests are part of an experimental clinical project on the effectiveness and safety of the new dengue fever vaccine CYD14 carried out by France’s Sanofi Pasteur group in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute in My Tho city in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang and Long Xuyen city in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang.

Vietnam is one of five countries in Asia taking part in the third stage of the experimental process with 2,336 children ages 2 to 14 on a voluntary basis.

The test results showed the vaccine was effective in 66% of children age nine and above. The vaccine reduced hospitalised cases by 81% and severe cases by 93%.

Associate Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Head of the HCM City Pasteur Institute, said the vaccine is less effective in children under nine, cutting infections by 44% and reducing hospitalised cases by 56% and severe cases by 67%.

The tests of children age nine and under, however, need to be watched until the end of the five-year experimental period to have a full assessment and ensure the vaccine is safe and effective, said Lan.

Reactions to the CYD14 vaccination are equal or lower than that of existing vaccines and it did not cause any significant incidents, he added.

According to the Preventive Medicine Department, based on research results, the CYD14 vaccine producer is taking steps to register the distribution of the vaccine for children aged nine and above in participating countries of the third experimental stage, including Vietnam.

Within the past 20 years, there have had 23 studies on the dengue fever vaccine in 17 countries around the world from the US and Australia, to countries with dengue fever in Asia and South America.

Dengue fever is currently a global problem and the number of dengue fever cases doubles every ten years.

Dengue fever returned to China, Malaysia, Cambodia and India after many years. In Vietnam, the disease returned in 2015 following the lowest point in 2014. Vietnam saw the worst dengue fever epidemic in 1998.

Medical experts advise people to take preventive measures like periodically cleaning water containers to remove mosquito larvae to prevent the spread of the disease.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)