World Health Organisation warns against dengue vaccine risks

Fresh concerns about the efficacy of the world’s first ever Dengue vaccine has come to light as the World Health Organisation (WHO) noted that there is an urgent need to describe the potential risks of the vaccine.

Therefore, it has advised the countries planning to use the vaccine to screen the population before vaccination. It has strictly directed the countries to vaccinate only seropositive (tested positive for dengue) individuals.

Dengvaxia (CYD-TDV), the vaccine in question is produced by the Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur. The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) formulated by WHO is examining the concerns caused by the vaccine.

“Furthermore, although the efficacy against dengue infections in seropositive individuals is high, it is still not complete. Hence, the limitations of CYD-TDV will need to be clearly communicated to populations offered vaccination,” warned WHO.

SAGE also looked at the population seroprevalence criteria (percentage of population affected by dengue) to ensure that only those affected by dengue get the jab.

“SAGE noted that the evidence of the absence of a safety issue in seronegative individuals aged 9 and above was based on the limited data set of 10%-20% of the trial population, and highlighted the urgent need to better describe the long-term benefit-risk ratio of CYD-TDV in seronegative individuals,” said a spokesperson.