The vaccination strategy to combat dengue can take up to eight years to reduce disease transmission amid epidemics like the one currently faced in the Americas. This is what the director general of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) explained. Jarbas Barbosa. The statement takes into account the vaccine’s duration of action in the population, as the vaccine available so far requires two applications.
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“The vaccine is not a tool to control transmission at this time”, he detailed. “The greatest tool for controlling dengue transmission continues to be the elimination of mosquito breeding sites”.
The general director also considered the production capacity of the Japanese laboratory Tateka, responsible for producing the Qdenga vaccine. At the moment, Brazil is the country on the continent with the most doses available to the population in absolute terms, according to Jarbas.
He also highlighted the importance of monitoring health systems on the American continent, as the vaccine was recently approved by regulatory bodies. Barbosa pointed out that information on the effectiveness of the immunizer against serotype 3 of the dengue virus is scarce, since the data was collected at a time of low prevalence.
Furthermore, Barbosa mentioned the progress made by the dengue vaccine being developed by the Butantan Institute, currently in the third phase of clinical trials. He believes that this vaccine, administered in a single dose, has the potential to make a significant difference in situations where the transmission of the disease is rapid, such as in Brazil. However, it “will probably only be available in 2025”, he commented.
With information from Agência Brasil.
