Yearly, in its deadliest form, dengue kills 22,000 people a year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dengue begins as a crippling fever, along with muscle and joint pain. There is no known cure. Children are most at risk.
Though it was once associated with the tropics, and considered endemic in only nine countries, due to globalization and fast-paced urban growth, its reach has rapidly expanded; it is now endemic in more than 100 countries.
This steady rise in cases puts at risk more than half of the world's population. Dengue accounts for about 70% of the burden of global disease. It is the world’s most rapidly growing mosquito-borne disease.
There is now a concrete weapon to fight the disease and to ensure the future eradication of it altogether.
In mid-2015, the Department of Health announced that the breakthrough vaccine would be available in the Philippines by the end of 2015. The DOH delivered on their promise because the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia will soon be available in the Filipino market.
It was finally approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 22, 2015, making the Philippines Philippines the second country to approve the dengue vaccine after Mexico.
Dengvaxia is a breakthrough innovation two decades in the making. Spearheading the project is France-based pharmaceutical giant, Sanofi. For the past 20 years, 1.6 Billion US dollars was spent to fund research and clinical study programs all over the globe.
READ: Dengue vaccine approved by Mexico
The Philippines' crucial role in the fight against dengue...
The Philippines' crucial role in the fight against dengue
The Dengvaxia vaccine is formulated to prevent all types of dengue in individuals from 9 to 45 years old. Dengvaxia was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization by 80 percent.
According to Sanofi, Dengvaxia "has shown to reduce dengue to all four serotypes in two-thirds of the participants and prevent 8 out of 10 hospitalization and up to 93 percent of severe dengue cases.”
According to DOH Health Secretary Janette Garin, the release of Dengvaxia in the Philippine market will take place in January 2016. The target production rate of Dengvaxia will be 100 million doses annually.
Sanofi acknowledged that the Philippines was one of the countries which played an important role in the process of creating Dengvaxia, being an active participant in all phases of the drug's clinical development.
It is hoped the drug could eventually help prevent millions of deaths from dengue,
“Prevention of dengue is an urgent and growing medical priority in the Philippines,” Dr. May Book Montellano, president of Philippine Foundation for Vaccination told the Manila Bulletin. “Vaccination is widely accepted as one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce the spread of infectious diseases like dengue.
“It’s a major step in the prevention of dengue and for public health,” Charmeil said.
As of October, there were around 108,000 people infected by dengue in the Philippines, according to the DOH.
READ: Dengue cases in the Philippines near 100,000 mark: how to protect your family
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