Illustrative image. (Photo: AFP/VNA)HCM City (VNA) – Research on a vaccine against dengue fever has been completed inVietnam and the vaccine still needs ethical approval from the Ministry ofHealth before being popularized, according to the vaccine research group from the Pasteur Institute in HoChi Minh City.
The researchof a vaccine named Dengvaxia, sponsored by France-based Sanofi Pasteur, beganover 20 years ago and has gone through many phases on both humans and animals regarding pharmacology,safety and efficacy, said Dr. Tran Ngoc Huu, former director of the HCMCPasteur Institute and head of the research group on July 27.
Two majorstudies on the vaccine’s safety and efficacy have been completed in 10countries, including five in Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Thailand and Vietnam, from 2011 to 2017, Huu noted.
In Vietnam,since 2011, the research group has tested the vaccine on 2,336 children aged 2 – 14 in the two Mekong Deltaprovinces of An Giang and Tien Giang.
All the children in Vietnam who participated inthe test are safe without any complications, he said.
Tests in othercountries have also shown theDengvaxia is highly effective in preventing dengue fever in children aged 9 –16, who have been previously infected.
Based on suchresults, Sanofi Pasteur has registered to distribute Dengvaxia in manycountries around the world. As of May this year, the vaccine has been licensed by 54 countriesand territories.
Huu addedSanofi Pasteur has pledged toprovide the vaccine to theVietnamese market at a reasonable price if it receives approval. –VNA
VNA
