Vaccine for Dengue fever by 2015

BANGKOK: A vaccine for dengue fever could be a reality by 2015 - bringing relief to countries like Thailand where the disease strikes millions each year.

For the estimated 220 million people infected annually, dengue fever starts with only a small mosquito bite.

Two million children a year develop a potentially deadly form of the disease.

More than 70 per cent of the world's population at risk for dengue fever live in ASEAN countries, and the month of June is peak dengue season.

Dengue has become an epidemic due to unprecedented population growth, lack of effective mosquito control, and unchecked urbanization.

Health consequences aside, families are often faced with the economic burden of treatment.

In Thailand's Ratchaburi province which has some of the highest incidences of dengue in the Kingdom, Sanofi Pasteur and Mahidol University are spearheading the world's first efficacy trial for a dengue vaccine.

So far, there is reason for hope.

"Its really quite exciting working on the challenging vaccine, but also thinking that at the end, the deliverable for us, the team at Sanofi Pasteur, will be the vaccine that will help the children and the parents for the 200 million plus that had dengue last year," said Dr Jean Lang, the Sanofi Pasteur Dengue Vaccine Program head.

4,000 children are participating in the four-year study.

They'll each receive three injections spaced six months apart.

Results of the trial are expected by 2012.

If its approved, Singapore could well be one of the first countries to take advantage.

"The Singapore government has maintained the mosquito control, but at the same time the population has become more susceptible, so as you have higher susceptibility, it takes fewer mosquitos to transmit epidemics," said Professor Duane J Gubler, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore.

Air travel has also made the city state susceptible to dengue outbreaks.

"Singapore lives in a sea of dengue. All of the countries around Singapore (such as) Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines all have massive epidemics of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever," said Professor Gubler.

A vaccine for dengue fever could be available by 2015.

SOURCE:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpA0wanx.jpg

Comments

Final lunar eclipse of 2010 set for early morning of December 21

Skygazers hoping to catch the last lunar eclipse of 2010 on Tuesday morning best be ready to stay up late (or wake up very early) to watch the full moon as it goes through a range of dramatic color changes. The December 21 lunar eclipse is expected to last about three-and-a-half hours from its start as a partial eclipse at 1:33 a.m. ET to its finish at 5:01 a.m. ET, according to NASA. The previous lunar eclipse occurred June 26 . During a lunar eclipse, the moon, the Earth, and the sun align so that the sun's rays are shielded from the moon. An eclipse of the moon can only take place if the moon is full, and only if the moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow, which is composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other. The start of the total eclipse is expected around 2:41 a.m, when the entire moon passes through the Earth's umbra, or inner shadow, which blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the moon. The moon will tak...

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) and Onychomadesis

Introduction Nails are underutilized as diagnostic tools, despite being involved in many dermatologic conditions. This paper explores new concepts in the treatment of median nail dystrophy (MND), onychomycosis, and the nail pathology of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). A Pubmed database literature search was conducted for MND treatment, onychomycosis treatment, and HFMD nail pathology. Only papers published after January 2008 were reviewed. The results showed that 0.1% tacrolimus ointment can be an effective treatment for MND. Early studies on laser therapy indicate that it is a safe and efficacious treatment option for onychomycosis, compared to conventional oral antifungal agents. Vicks VapoRub (The Proctor & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH) is effective against onychomycosis and is a reasonable option in patients who choose to forgo conventional treatments. Lastly, there is evidence to support a correlation between HFMD and onychomadesis. ...

Men With Breast Cancer Face Worse Prognosis

Men who are diagnosed with breast cancer are more likely than female patients to die in the next 15 years, researchers report. "This may be due to a difference in tumor characteristics and treatment," says study leader Hui Miao, a PhD candidate at the National University of Singapore. Male breast cancer is rare, accounting for less than 1% of all breast cancers in the U.S. Given its scarcity, few studies have assessed its prognosis "and we know of no recent studies looking at trends in survival," Miao tells WebMD. So Miao and colleagues studied 459,846 women and 2,664 men diagnosed with breast cancer in Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, and Sweden between 1970 and 2007. Among the findings, presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: Men were diagnosed at an older age: 69 vs. 61 for women. Twice as many men had later stage III or IV disease: 18% vs. 9% of women. Only 25% of men were alive 15 years after diagnosis, compared with 44...

Life, Health and Enjoyment

Search This Blog