Anti Dengue Vaccine

• At a time when India is struggling with rising number of dengue cases with each passing year, the Mexican government has approved the world's first anti-dengue vaccine which is designed to protect people in the 9-45 age groups from nine to 45 years from all four subtypes of the virus.
• This vaccine is called by the name of Dengvaxia, which is developed by France-based Company Sanofi Pasteur.
• The  new vaccine is 60.5 per cent effective against dengue and 93.2 per cent effective against severe dengue treatment
• Dengue affects nearly 400 million people in endemic areas, mostly in tropical and subtropical countries in Latin America and Asia
• The WHO has called on endemic countries to reduce dengue mortality by 50 per cent and morbidity by 25 per cent by 2020.

Dengue in India:

• According to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, there were more than 90,000 dengue cases reported in the country till November this year and more than 180 people died of the disease.

 About Dengue

• Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. The dengue virus is transmitted to people primarily via two species of mosquitoes: Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus
• Dengue typically causes a debilitating fever, headaches, rash and joint and muscle pain
• Some people who are infected will not have any symptoms, but others can develop a potentially fatal complication known as dengue haemorrhagic fever
• There are four strains of virus.
• After being infected with one type of dengue you are immune to that specific type for life, but not the other strains.
• The risk of haemorrhagic fever increases if you catch dengue more than once.
• The virus is estimated to infect up to 400 million people globally each year
• In Australia, the A. aegypti mosquito has been reported as far south as Rockhampton on the Tropic of Capricorn in Queensland.
• Usually, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites.

By: Vishal