Dengue Fever Vaccine Seven Years Away

March 22, 2006

According to the Malaysian National News Agency, the WHO said today that

... it will probably take another seven years before a dengue vaccine which is safe and effective against all four strains of the dengue virus can be produced, an expert said ahead of a World Health Organisation's (WHO) Dengue Prevention and Control in Asia Pacific Conference in Chiang Mai.

Work on developing a vaccine is underway at Thailand's Mahidol University and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). The Bill Gates Foundation have given a grant of US$55 million for dengue research.

Progress has been slow:

a modern dengue vaccine was first produced at WRAIR in the late 1970s to early 1980s and co-developed by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals. The vaccine being developed at Mahidol, which received a US$10 million grant from WHO 10 years ago, is still in the process of human trials.

Owen comments: Progress is desperately slow, even where scientific leads exist for a possible vaccine. If kids in rich countries were dying of Dengue Fever, you can be sure that these leads would have been tested much more quickly.

Disclaimer

CGD blog posts reflect the views of the authors, drawing on prior research and experience in their areas of expertise. CGD is a nonpartisan, independent organization and does not take institutional positions.