2024-07-22 10:30:09
(ANSA) – ROME, JULY 22 – The vaccine against Dengue fever is effective and safe, it can halve the risk of contracting the infection: this is what emerges from the first meta-analysis worldwide published in the journal Vaccines. Conducted by cross-referencing the data of 19 scientific studies, for a total of over 20,000 individuals involved, the study shows an efficacy of over 50%, that is, it reduces the risk of getting sick by 50%.
The vaccine is called TAK-003 or Qdenga and is the only one approved to date in Italy and in many European countries for the fight against Dengue. The study was conducted by the University of Bologna and the University of Ferrara. “This is the first comprehensive analysis worldwide and the positive outcome was not a given”, says Lamberto Manzoli, director of the School of Specialization in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at the Alma Mater, coordinator of the study. “It took many years to develop a vaccine with such good results”.
The Dengue virus, transmitted by some species of mosquitoes, infects approximately 400 million people in the hottest areas of the planet every year, causing more than 3 million deaths. Climate change is leading to an expansion of the habitat of mosquitoes carrying the virus, and this is causing new Dengue epidemics in an ever-increasing number of countries. In Italy too, following the continuous increase in cases, the disease is at the center of a health alert. To date, there is no effective therapy against the disease and environmental remediation actions against mosquitoes are not able to completely eliminate the risk of epidemics. The only prevention strategy is therefore the vaccine: approved in Europe in December 2022, for Qdenga, however, an overall estimate of its efficacy and safety was not available until now. Among those who received both doses, more than 90% developed antibodies against dengue, and the response was also very positive among those who received only one dose: more than 70% of adults and more than 90% of children and adolescents developed antibodies.
“The vaccine currently available can therefore be very useful not only for populations in endemic areas, but also for travellers from non-risk areas, concludes Maria Elena Flacco, first author of the study at the University of Ferrara. (ANSA).
2024-07-22 10:30:09