The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently approved "Qdenga", a vaccine developed by Japan's Takeda Pharmaceuticals, to prevent the mosquito-borne disease dengue.
The approval was granted on October 2 for emergency use. The vaccine has been recommended for use in children at an early stage
Will the vaccine arrive in Bangladesh?
Due to the recent dengue outbreak in the country, the government of Bangladesh has expressed its commitment to endorsing all necessary measures aimed at curbing the disease's further spread.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque has assured all possible support for the dengue vaccines arriving in Bangladesh considering the recent outbreak in the country.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has sought the advice of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) on the use of dengue vaccine in the country.
A decision will be taken on the use of the vaccine only after getting the recommendation of the committee, said DGHS Additional Director General (Planning and Development) Prof Ahmedul Kabir at a virtual press briefing last week.
Qdenga vaccine
The Qdenga vaccine had previously received approval for use in the European Union and in countries where dengue is endemic, including Indonesia and Brazil.
According to the report, the two-dose Qdenga vaccine is based on the serotype 2 variant. However, there are also three other types of elements involved.
The vaccine has been tested on 1,800 young people in the Dominican Republic, Panama and the Philippines. According to the results of the study, the vaccine provides at least four years of protection against all four types of dengue.
Takeda then conducted another trial on more than 20,000 people in Asia and Latin America.
It found that the hospitalization rate of vaccinated people is much lower and it works to prevent disease by up to 61%. At the same time, no significant tests were found to be at risk.
Recent trials in Bangladesh
On September 28, a trial for a dengue vaccine was carried out successfully for the first time in Bangladesh.
Researchers at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (icddr,b) and Vermont University's Larner College of Medicine in the US successfully completed these tests, the icddr,b said on Thursday.
The international journal Lancet published the result of the clinical trial along with the study. The vaccine has been named TV-005 (Tetravelent).
Experimental application of the vaccine has shown that it is effective against all four existing types of dengue virus – Den-1, Den-2, Den-3 and Den-4.
A single dose of this vaccine can protect against dengue.