The dengue vaccine – an open letter to the MOH

(image credit: the MalayMail online) There’s no doubt about it – the statistics are grim. Dengue has seen a steep rise in 2014 and even higher numbers were seen in 2015. Early on in 2016, we have to brace ourselves for a spike due to the El Nino effect The Star reported the very grim data: According to the ministry, 336 people – an average of 28 a month – died from dengue last year compared to 215 in 2014, a rise of 56.3%. There was also an increase of 11.2% in the number of dengue cases throughout last year, up from 108,698 in 2014 to 120,836 cases. That’s 333 cases a month or 110 cases each day! The ministry is now cautioning people to brace for an equally bad, if not worse, year ahead. Just imagine, almost one person dying of dengue every day and over 100 cases every day last year, and the numbers are expected to worsen. We all are aware of the importance of controlling the vector, the Aedes mosquito. The focus on this should not be lost but clearly we are losing the battle against dengue if we are only relying on this. Perhaps the authorities should double down on the public health measures and really impose stiff fines on those caught breeding Aedes but honestly do you think this will be enough given the current track record? Many are aware that for the first time, there is now a vaccine available for the prevention of dengue produced by Sanofi, called Dengvaxia® Dengvaxia®, a live attenuated tetravalent chimeric vaccine, is the first vaccine license...
Source: Malaysian Medical Resources - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: - Nation dengue Vaccine Source Type: blogs