WHO recommends new dengue vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the use of a new dengue fever vaccine developed by Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.

WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus disclosed this at a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday (October 3).

The vaccine, named Qdenga, was approved on Monday (October 2) for use in the European Union and endemic countries.

He said the WHO recommends that the Qdenga vaccine be introduced to children aged 6-16 years who live in areas ‘with high dengue disease burden and high transmission intensity’.

Dengue, common in tropical and subtropical climates, is a viral infection spread from mosquitoes to people.