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| Dengue Fever | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 23 Dec 2015, 02:01 AM (123 Views) | |
| skibboy | 23 Dec 2015, 02:01 AM Post #1 |
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22 December 2015 Philippines is first Asian country to approve dengue vaccine © AFP/File | The Philippines on December 22 2015 became the first Asian country to approve the sale of the first-ever vaccine for dengue, the fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease PARIS (AFP) - The Philippines became the first Asian country on Tuesday to approve the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine. Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, secured its first regulatory approval in Mexico a fortnight ago and is currently being reviewed by around 20 countries in Asia and Latin America. It is hoped the drug could eventually help prevent millions of deaths from dengue, the world's fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease. The World Health Organization says as many as 400 million people are infected worldwide every year, and two-thirds are in Asia. "It's a major step in the prevention of dengue and for public health," Olivier Charmeil, head of Sanofi's vaccines division, said in a statement. Scientists have long been stumped by dengue, which has four separate strains, forcing researchers to find a drug able to fight all of them at once. Clinical tests -- carried out on 40,000 people from 15 countries -- have found Dengvaxia can immunise two-thirds of people aged nine years and older, rising to 93 percent for the more severe form of the disease, dengue haemorrhagic fever. It was also found to reduce the risk of hospitalisation by 80 percent. Dengue can trigger a crippling fever, along with muscle and joint pain. There is no known cure, and children are at particular risk. The deadliest form of the disease kills 22,000 people a year, the WHO says. It was once considered a disease of the tropics, endemic in only nine countries, but globalisation, urbanisation, climate change and jet travel are helping it to move into more temperate zones. It is now endemic in more than 100 countries. The WHO says cases have risen 30-fold over the last 50 years, with more than half the world's population potentially at risk. Several million doses of the vaccine are ready to ship, and Sanofi expects annual production to reach 100 million doses by 2017. Sanofi's research and development work took 20 years, costing more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion). But the vaccine could bring the company more than $1 billion annually starting in 2018 or 2019, analysts said. Other pharmaceutical companies are developing dengue vaccines, including US firm Merck, Japan's Takeda and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, but Sanofi is ahead of the competition. Source:
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| skibboy | 23 Dec 2015, 02:06 AM Post #2 |
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22 December 2015 Dengue fever spreads around the world © AFP/File / by Olivier Thibault | Dengue patient Ritika Srivastava, 22, lies beneath mosquito netting in a hospital ward in Allahabad, India on September 18, 2015 PARIS (AFP) - Dengue fever, the world's fastest growing mosquito-borne disease, has spread its wings and morphed from a tropical disease endemic in just nine countries to worldwide threat. Globalisation, urbanisation, climate change and jet travel have enabled it to move into more temperate zones. Following are some basic facts: - What is dengue fever ? - Dengue fever is a flu-like infection caused by the flavivirus; it is in the same family as yellow fever. Dengue fever has four separate strains -- DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. Once cured, patients are protected for life, but only against the strain they were stricken by. - How is the virus transmitted ? - Dengue is transmitted by several subspecies of the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which originate in Africa but which are now present in all tropical and subtropical areas. - The symptoms - Dengue can trigger a crippling fever along with headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, and skin rashes similar to measles. - The most severe form - The most severe form of the disease, dengue haemorrhagic fever, accounts for one percent of cases, killing 22,000 people a year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says. It results in bleeding and blood plasma leakage. It can be particularly fatal among children. - How many cases ? - The number of dengue cases has risen 30-fold over the last 50 years, according to the WHO, making it the world's fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease and leaving more than half of the global population at risk. The WHO says that half a million people are hospitalised by the illness every year, many of them children; of that number, roughly 2.5 percent die. - Treatment and vaccination - There is currently no specific treatment for dengue fever. The world's first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, secured its first regulatory approval in Mexico on December 9. The Philippines became the first Asian country on Tuesday December 22 to approve the sale of the vaccine. Other pharmaceutical companies are developing dengue vaccines, including US firm Merck, Japan's Takeda and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline. by Olivier Thibault Source:
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| skibboy | 21 Feb 2016, 12:38 AM Post #3 |
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20 February 2016 Sharp rise of dengue on Chile's Easter Island © AFP/File | Both dengue and Zika are transmitted by the aedes aegypti mosquitos, seen in a laboratory at the University of El Salvador, in San Salvador on February 3, 2016 SANTIAGO (AFP) - Chile's remote Easter Island over the past two weeks has seen a dramatic increase in dengue, with a total now of 16 confirmed cases, including one serious enough to require hospitalization. Health officials in Santiago said two new dengue cases were confirmed Saturday on Easter Island in two women, ages 20 and 52. "One of them required hospitalization after displaying serious symptoms," Chile's health department said in a statement, who said the woman at present is in good condition. Authorities said they are also monitoring the population for Zika virus, and that about a dozen people suspected of having the disease are under observation. Both dengue and Zika are transmitted by the same mosquito, aedes aegypti. Officials worry that the dengue outbreak could hurt tourism, a major source of revenue. Several nations in Latin America and the Caribbean have seen serious outbreaks of Zika, which officials suspect of causing birth defects in infants, and other potentially serious health concerns. Easter Island, a Chilean Pacific territory of just 5,761 people, is a volcanic outcrop of Polynesian culture some 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) from the Latin American continent. It is famous for its archaeological sites, including some 900 mammoth ancient statues of human figures, which are a major tourist attraction. Source:
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| skibboy | 14 Aug 2016, 12:22 AM Post #4 |
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13 August 2016 Brazil launches first dengue vaccine campaign: drug maker © AFP/File | A nurse shows vials of the anti-dengue vaccine at Parang Elementary School in Marikina, west of Manila on April 4, 2016 PARIS (AFP) - Brazil on Saturday launched the first public immunisation programme in the Americas against dengue fever, with 500,000 people to be injected with the world's first authorized vaccine against the disease, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said. The programme will be rolled out in the southern state of Parana, said the maker of the Dengvaxia vaccine, which is the result of 20 years of research and 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) of investment. "We will vaccinate all individuals 15-27 years of age in 28 municipalities and 9-44 years of age in the two municipalities with the top dengue burden in our state over the next three weeks," Parana Health Secretary Michele Caputo Neto said in a Sanofi statement. He cited a study published in the Brazilian Journal of Health Economics indicating that implementation of the dengue immunisation strategy "could result in 74 percent reduction in disease burden in these highly-impacted municipalities within five years". Sanofi said the campaign was the "first dengue immunisation public programme in the Americas". The vaccine has been approved in Mexico, the Philippines, El Salvador and Costa Rica. In Parana state, home to 10 million people, cases of dengue fever and deaths due to the disease have tripled in recent years, according to Sanofi. The mosquito-borne viral disease killed 863 people in Brazil in 2015, a 82.4 percent increase on the previous year. The incidence of dengue has grown "dramatically" around the world in recent decades, according to the World Health Organization. Asia currently bears 70 percent of the global burden of the disease. In April Sanofi launched a public immunisation programme against dengue in the Philippines. Dengvaxia is produced in France in a facility which should be able to produce 100 million doses per year when at full capacity. Source:
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| skibboy | 24 Nov 2016, 03:58 AM Post #5 |
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Dengue fever kills 20 in Burkina Faso 23 November 2016 ![]() Mosquitoes are spreading agents for the deadly dengue virus Dengue fever has killed at least 20 people in the West African state of Burkina Faso, where about 2,000 cases of the disease have been recorded. Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease which is prevalent in sub-tropical and tropical regions. It is a major cause of illness worldwide, causing about 100 million episodes of feverish illness a year. Its outbreak in Burkina Faso is causing alarm and officials are trying to avoid any widespread panic. One man told BBC Afrique's Yacouba Ouedraogo in the capital, Ouagadougou, that the disease had killed his brother quickly: "My younger brother did not even have a chance to say what was wrong. We just found him dead," he said. Rarely fatal Dengue fever particularly affects young children and adults, but is not normally fatal, specialists say. Most people who get it will suffer from headaches and fever. Some get rashes, aches and pains and their symptoms usually last for two or three days. An infected person can feel tired for up to three months, but will not usually need treatment. Cases of the disease have been reported from all 12 districts of Ouagadougou, the World Health Organization says. Two other regions - the Sahel Region in the north and the Hauts-Bassins region in the west - have also reported cases. Source:
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| skibboy | 20 Jul 2017, 01:18 AM Post #6 |
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19 July 2017 Australia helps Sri Lanka as dengue toll hits 250 ![]() © AFP/File | Australia will provide AUS$500,000 (US$400,000) to fund the World Health Organization's dengue prevention and control measures in Sri Lanka, where the virus has claimed 250 lives and infected nearly 100,000 people this year COLOMBO (AFP) - Australia will join Sri Lanka in its war on dengue fever, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Wednesday, as the virus has claimed a record 250 lives and infected nearly 100,000 people in the South Asian country this year. Sri Lanka has deployed hundreds of troops to destroy mosquito breeding grounds as it battles to control the spread of the mosquito-borne virus, which has been unprecedented and caught authorities off guard. Humid monsoon weather, stagnant water from recent flooding, as well as mounting piles of rotting garbage accumulating in the capital, have combined to create abundant areas for mosquitoes to multiply. Official figures show about 250 deaths so far this year compared to 78 for the whole of last year, when only about 55,000 infections were reported. Bishop said Canberra would provide AUS$500,000 (US$400,000) to fund the World Health Organization's dengue prevention and control measures in Sri Lanka. It would also fund a AUS$1 million research partnership between Australia's Monash University and Sri Lanka's health ministry. She said Sri Lanka could benefit from Monash University's groundbreaking research to trial the introduction of naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria to Sri Lanka's mosquito populations. "It prevents the dengue virus from being transmitted between people," she said. "It also has the ability to block other mosquito-borne diseases such as zika and chikumgunya." Bishop made the announcement after talks with her Sri Lankan counterpart Ravi Karunanayake. Authorities have blamed a garbage disposal crisis in Colombo for the unusually large infections. The country's main rubbish tip collapsed in April, crushing dozens of homes and killing 32 people. Stagnant water left behind after last month's flooding was also seen as contributing to the spread of dengue. Source: .com
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| skibboy | 30 Aug 2017, 02:19 AM Post #7 |
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30 August 2017 Millions of infected Brazilian mosquitoes to tackle dengue ![]() © AFP | Experts form the Brazilian Fiocruz Institute release Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with a bacteria that prevents them from spreading dengue, Zika and chikungunya in Rio de Janeiro RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Brazilian scientists on Tuesday began to unleash the first of millions of mosquitoes infected with a bacteria meant to prevent the insects from transmitting the dengue virus to humans. Thousands of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying the bacteria were released in front of journalists by scientists from the Fiocruz institute in Rio de Janeiro. The hope is that they will then breed and spread the bacteria, denting the insect population's ability to spread dengue and other viruses including Zika and chikungunya. Scientists have been preparing the project -- developed by Australians who first put the Wolbachia bacteria into mosquitoes -- since last year. Dengue causes fevers, rashes, nausea and in some cases can be fatal, while Zika has been blamed for serious birth defects. In 2016, fears over Zika led to the United Nations health body to declare an international health emergency, ending in November. Fiocruz plans to release 1.6 million infected mosquitoes a week, later stepping that up to three million. "We found that when an Aedes aegypti mosquito has this (bacteria), it blocks or reduces the capacity of the mosquito to transmit viruses like dengue, Zika and chikungunya," said the head of the dengue program at Fiocruz, Luciano Moreiro. "So the idea is that when they are released, they will transmit this, as if they were immunizing the other mosquitoes and therefore transmission will be reduced." Source: .com
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| skibboy | 5 Dec 2017, 02:36 AM Post #8 |
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Philippines launches probe into dengue vaccine scare 4 December 2017 ![]() Dengue is a potentially deadly mosquito-borne disease The Philippines has launched an investigation into the immunisation of 730,000 children with a dengue vaccine that could pose health risks. Last week French drug company Sanofi announced its vaccine could worsen the potentially deadly disease in people not previously infected. The public immunisation programme was suspended on Friday. Dengue fever affects more than 400 million people each year around the world. The mosquito-borne disease is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in some Asian and Latin American countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Sanofi's Dengvaxia is the first-ever approved dengue vaccine. In addition to the Philippines, the company said the vaccine was registered in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Singapore, Thailand and Venezuela. The vaccine has also been used in a public immunisation programme in Brazil which, combined with the Philippines scheme, has to date provided around one million people at least one dose of drug. Sanofi said in a press conference on Monday that there had been no reported deaths related to its dengue vaccine in the Philippines. "As far as we know, as far as we are made aware, there are no reported deaths that are related to dengue vaccination," the company's medical director, Ruby Dizon, told reporters on Monday. "Of course, rest assured, monitoring is continuing, we are working with the department of health (DOH), in collaboration, to make sure this is maintained." Philippine presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Monday that "people should not panic over the dengue vaccine" as the government was looking into the matter. Dengue is a viral infection which causes a severe, flu-like illness that can be fatal if it develops into its most serious form. The global incidence of dengue has risen dramatically in recent decades, according to the WHO, putting about half the world's population at risk of the disease. WHO recommendation Sanofi said last week that a new long-term study had shown that while the Dengvaxia vaccine worked with people who had prior infection, it posed a risk for those who hadn't. "For those not previously infected by dengue virus, the analysis found that in the longer term, more cases of severe disease could occur following vaccination upon a subsequent dengue infection," the company said in a statement. The French drug maker said it would ask health authorities to update the information given to doctors and patients working with the vaccine. In its latest advice on the vaccine, the WHO recommended that Dengvaxia should only be administered to "subjects that are known to have been infected with dengue prior to vaccination," pending a full review of the study. Source: .com
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| skibboy | 4 Feb 2018, 01:18 AM Post #9 |
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Philippines gripped by dengue vaccine fears 9 hours ago ![]() Enrique Domingo expressed concerns about potential epidemics in the Philippines Fears over a dengue vaccine in the Philippines have led to a big drop in immunisation rates for preventable diseases, officials have warned. Health Under-Secretary Enrique Domingo said many parents were refusing to get their children vaccinated for polio, chicken pox and tetanus. The fears centre on Dengvaxia, a drug developed by French company Sanofi. Sanofi and local experts say there is no evidence linking the deaths of 14 children to the drug. However, the company had warned last year that the vaccine could make the disease worse in some people not infected before. Dengue fever affects more than 400 million people each year around the world. Dengvaxia is the world's first vaccine against dengue. The mosquito-borne disease is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in some Asian and Latin American countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). What did Mr Domingo say about immunisation rates? "Our programmes are suffering... (people) are scared of all vaccines now", he warned. Mr Domingo added that vaccination rates for some preventable diseases had dropped as much as 60% in recent years - significantly lower that the nationwide target of 85%. Mr Domingo expressed concerns about potential epidemics in the Philippines - a nation of about 100 million people, many of whom are impoverished. What triggered fears about Dengvaxia? More than 800,000 children were vaccinated across the country in 2016-17. Fourteen of them have died. Dengvaxia immunisations were halted last year, as the Philippines launched an investigation into what caused the deaths. On Saturday, Doctors for Public Welfare (DPW) said a clinical review conducted by Philippine General Hospital forensic pathologists had determined that the deaths were not linked to the vaccine, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. What about Sanofi's reaction? In a statement, the French company said: "The University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital expert panel confirmed... that there is currently no evidence directly linking the Dengvaxia vaccine to any of the 14 deaths. "In Dengvaxia clinical trials conducted over more than a decade and the over one million doses of the vaccine administered, no deaths related to the vaccine have been reported to us. "Clinical evidence confirms dengue vaccination in the Philippines will provide a net reduction in dengue disease." Last November, Sanofi announced that its vaccine could worsen the potentially deadly disease in people not previously infected. "For those not previously infected by dengue virus, however, the analysis found that in the longer term, more cases of severe disease could occur following vaccination upon a subsequent dengue infection," the firm said in a statement. Sanofi says Dengvaxia has been registered in 19 countries and launched in 11 of them. In its latest advice on the vaccine, the WHO said that "until a full review has been conducted, WHO recommends vaccination only in individuals with a documented past dengue infection". ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Recent vaccine controversies: - 'Anti-vax' movement: activities in the past few years by fringe campaigners against immunisation - particularly for measles - lead to falling immunisation rates in France, Italy and the US - Polio: Islamist militants in Pakistan have carried out attacks against workers vaccinating children in recent years. The militants say immunisation is a Western campaign to sterilise Pakistani children - MMR (measles, mumps and rubella): starts with a publication of a 1998 paper falsely linking the vaccine to autism. This leads to a drop in immunisation rates in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Source: .com
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