A thread on the Health section already includes dengue ( http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....ngue-Fever-Map ), and there’s an update from the Philippines ( http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....187#post386187
).
• This week the results are published of the second phase of a clinical trial testing for a dengue vaccine (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/la...428-7/fulltext
).
• It involved 4,000 primary school aged children in Thailand. It shows for the first time that a safe vaccine is possible. Overall efficacy ( effect under “ ideal “ circumstances ) was only 30%. This was a surprise and far lower than expected – Sanofi, the French drug maker, had thought the vaccine could generate a billion euros in sales. It’s no cause for celebration and leaves uncertain the future effectiveness of this vaccine in the real world of over 120 countries where the viruses are transmitted.
• The vaccine seems to offer protection against three of the four dengue virus types – the one type not affected was the commonest in the study’s region. The vaccine needs to be “ tetravalent “ – working against all four types - to be effective.
• We still don’t understand much about dengue, why it’s increasing in frequency, and the disappointing attempts to produce a good vaccine. Although most people do recover, it’s now so common that about 20,000 die each year, many of them children.
• Sanofi has given the vaccine to an additional 30,000 adults and children, in many countries, including the Philippines ( Cebu and San Pablo Cities ). We now have to wait for the results of this “ Phase 3 “ trial. Phase 4 would happen if the vaccine was shown to work and given a licence. This will not be until the end of 2014. Even if results were good, the vaccine would not be available until a year later.
• In the meantime, there is neither an available vaccine nor a specific drug for dengue. Patience is a virtue – have a look at this general advice on the internet ( http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/dengue/...roduction.aspx
) - and hope that all the effort and money already invested WILL produce a safe / effective vaccine in the future.
