Dengue vaccines approach the finish line.
Center for Vaccine Development, University of Maryland
School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
redelman@medicine.umaryland.edu
The spread of dengue virus (DV) via its Aedes mosquito
vector throughout most of the tropics has led to a worldwide resurgence of
epidemic dengue, including dengue hemorrhagic fever. For the first time in 60
years, the pipeline of dengue vaccines looks promising. Strains of each of the
4 DV serotypes, attenuated by passage in tissue culture or by recombinant DNA
technology, have been formulated into tetravalent vaccines and have entered
successful phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in the United States and Southeast
Asia. Antibody-dependent enhancement of wild-type DV infections by the vaccine
represents a unique safety issue, which is under investigation. The Pediatric
Dengue Vaccine Initiative (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation),
the World Health Organization, industry, the US military, and governments of
tropical countries are collaborating to accelerate dengue vaccine development
and phase 3 vaccine efficacy trials in countries where dengue is endemic. A
protective tetravalent vaccine must be licensed soon if dengue is to be
brought under control.
PMID: 17582571 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]