June 14, 2012BANGKOK (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) -- The efficacy of the first dengue fever vaccine is expected to be known by September when results of tests on thousands of Thai children will be revealed, the pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur said Thursday.
Sanofi Pasteur has been collaborating with Thailand's Ministry of Health and Mahidol University in conducting dengue vaccine research and trials for the past two decades, with positive results anticipated by the third quarter of this year, Sanofi Pasteur's programme leader Jean Lang said.
Should the field tests prove successful, the company hopes to make the vaccine available by 2015.
Some 3.6 billion of the world's 7 billion population are at risk of being infected by dengue, a virus that is borne by the Aedes mosquito. Although rarely fatal among adults, dengue can claim the lives of young children.
Some scientists predict that dengue may become a health threat to Europe in the near future as a result of climate change, said Pratap Singhasivanon, professor of tropical medicine at Thailand's Mahidol University.
Copyright 2012 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
