Health Watch | Dengue vaccines: A shot to prevent outbreaks

India may finally be close to getting a dengue vaccine, what public health experts had desperately wanted for years. With dengue cases rising almost every monsoon and cities seeing repeated outbreaks, a vaccine could significantly change how India deals with one of its most persistent seasonal diseases. Japanese drugs manufacturer Takeda Pharma is set to roll out its Qdenga (TAK-003) vaccine in India through a manufacturing partnership with Hyderabad-based Biological E (Bio E). Clinical trials and approval from the health ministry’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) will, of course, be mandatory. The vaccine is already in use in 40 countries, including the UK, Brazil and those in Europe.

Dengue is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and affects millions in India every year, especially in urban areas. Severe dengue can cause bleeding, organ failure, and can be fatal, particularly in children and the elderly. The new dengue vaccines being considered work by training the immune system to recognise all four dengue virus types. Dengue is complicated because a person can be infected multiple times by different strains, and the second infection is often more severe. The vaccine uses weakened or modified virus components, so the body learns to fight the virus before real infection sets in.

If introduced widely, the dengue vaccine could reduce hospitalisations, severity of cases, and pressure on hospitals during monsoon outbreaks—something Indian cities struggle with every year.