Dengue cases passes 10,000 mark, vaccine progress moderate

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/moderate-progress-dengue-vaccine-number-cases-passes-10000-mark?singlepage=true

The number of dengue cases in Singapore has crossed the five-figure mark, with 10,112 cases as of 3.30pm on Thursday.

In a statement issued earlier this week, the National Environment Agency said there was a sharp rise in the number of reported cases of dengue and warned that it expects the number to rise further during the ongoing peak dengue season.

There were 891 dengue cases reported last week. Last year, the number of dengue cases exceeded 22,000, with seven reported deaths.

This comes as a study conducted in five countries in Asia found that a highly-anticipated dengue vaccine being developed by drug giant Sanofi Pasteur offered only modest protection against symptomatic dengue, with an overall efficacy rate of 56 per cent.

An early trial of the Sanofi Pasteur vaccine in 2012 found the vaccine’s efficacy was 33 per cent.

In the latest study, conducted in more than 10,000 children aged two to 14 in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, the shot’s efficacy improved to 56 per cent. Most common vaccines such as those for measles and polio are more than 95 per cent effective.

People infected with one type of dengue develop antibodies that protect them from further infections of that type.

But if they catch another kind of dengue, their antibodies make them susceptible to more serious disease that could include hemorrhaging.