Review of a licensed dengue vaccine: Inappropriate subgroup analyses and selective reporting may cause harm in mass vaccination programs

Severe life-threatening dengue fever usually occurs when a child is infected by dengue virus a 2nd time. This is caused by a phenomenon called antibody dependent enhancement or ADE. Since dengue vaccines can mimic a first infection in seronegative children (those with no previous infection), a natural infection later in life could lead to severe disease. The possibility that dengue vaccines can cause severe dengue through ADE has led to serious concern regarding the safety of mass vaccination programs.
Source: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Source Type: research