Newly published data reveal in greater depth the problem Sanofi Pasteur’s Dengvaxia vaccine poses to children who have never experienced a dengue infection.
The findings, first revealed by the company last November, were the basis of an April decision by a World Health Association expert panel to recommend the vaccine only be given to children who have tested positive for a prior dengue infection. There is no such test at the moment.
Despite the publication in the New England Journal of Medicine, a Sanofi official said the company remains committed to finding a way to allow the vaccine to be used safely to reduce dengue’s enormous health care burden.
About the Author Reprints
I think that most people with a previous Denge infection would be able to remember it and get the vaccine without a test. My nephew got Denge when he was in India; it was like a hemorrhagic fever (bleeding and low platelet counts).
Hi. That’s severe dengue disease. But severe dengue makes up only a fraction of dengue infections. Some people have mild, flu like symptoms which could be mistaken for flu or other illnesses. And many infections are “silent” — maybe as many as 3 of 4. See: http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue