WHO recommends dengue vaccine developed by Takeda

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of a new dengue fever vaccine developed by Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co on Monday (2 October).

The vaccine, named Qdenga, has already been approved for use in the European Union and endemic countries such as Indonesia and Brazil, reports Japanese news agency Jiji Press.

During a briefing in Geneva, WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO recommends that the Qdenga vaccine be introduced to children aged 6-16 years who live in areas "with high dengue disease burden and high transmission intensity."

Dengue, common in tropical and subtropical climates, is a viral infection spread from mosquitoes to people.

Takeda's vaccine was shown in trials to be effective against all four serotypes of the virus in people who were previously infected by dengue, Hanna Nohynek, chair of WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, told journalists.

She added, however, uncertainty lingered about its performance against serotype 3 and 4 in people who have not been infected previously.