Dengue vaccine offers partial protection
Shots reduce severe cases among children in large study
By Nathan Seppa
NEW ORLEANS — Dengue fever, a dangerous viral disease that has spread across the globe over the last 50 years, has run into an obstacle. New test results from Latin America find that an experimental vaccine aimed at all four subtypes of dengue appears to protect against the virus nearly two-thirds of the time.
Vaccination with even one dose of the three-shot course delivered substantial protection, and the vaccine limited cases of severe dengue, which can be fatal, researchers at vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur reported November 3 at a meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The study also appeared online on the same day in the New England Journal of Medicine.