World’s first dengue vaccine now available in Indonesia

After 20 years of research, a vaccine to prevent dengue is now available for people in countries across the world. The first-ever dengue vaccine manufactured by multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur can be used by people aged between 9 and 16 years old. Research for the development of the dengue vaccine was conducted in 15 countries, including Indonesia.

Pediatrician Sri Rezeki Hadinegoro, a dengue vaccine research team member in Indonesia, said around 1,800 school-aged children from Bandung in West Java, Denpasar in Bali and Jakarta participated in the research.

She said research on the efficacy of the vaccine had been carried out since 2011 in 15 countries, from Asia-Pacific countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, to Latin America.

“The research has now entered the third phase. To know the efficacy of the vaccine, there will be a comparison study between a group of dengue vaccine recipients and another group with non-vaccinated respondents. The research is being conducted over five years and will be completed in September 2017,” Sri said as quoted by kompas.com, during the launch of the vaccine on Tuesday.

Although the research had not yet been completed, she said, the use of the vaccine had showed significant results.

“In the 9 to 16 age group, the results of the vaccine use were quite consistent. It could reduce infections by 65 percent, dengue-related in-patient treatment at hospitals by 80 percent and serious dengue cases by 92 percent,” said Sri.

Sanofi Pasteur general manager Joko Murdianto said the vaccine had been distributed across Indonesia since September. (ebf)