Viet Nam to test Japanese dengue vaccine efficacy
VGP - Viet Nam will test the efficacy of a Japan-produced vaccine against dengue fever, said Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, vice president of the Viet Nam Medical Association.
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Dr. Nguyen made the announcement on the sidelines of a conference on scientific research and application in medicine held in Ha Noi on October 11.
The move came amidst a rising number of dengue infections throughout the country, he added.
A Japanese dengue vaccine has been tested recently that has initially proved effective in preventing all four serotypes of dengue, and Viet Nam will be one of the countries to join the testing campaign, said the health professional.
Viet Nam is one of the countries recording high numbers of dengue infections, with more than 200,000 cases documented per year.
So far this year, over 90,000 infections have been recorded in Viet Nam, including 26 fatalities. The most common types of virus are DEN-1 and DEN-2, according to the Ministry of Health.
The General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health predicts that climate change coupled with the prolonged El Nino phenomenon in 2023-2024 will create favorable conditions for mosquitoes to breed, making it easier for mosquito-borne infectious diseases, especially dengue fever, to spread.
Viet Nam has become one of the countries capable of producing 11 out of 12 vaccines used in the expanded immunization program that has been carried out in the country./.
