After decades of delays, the first vaccine for dengue fever was introduced seven years ago. But that formula, from Sanofi, was soon found to be suitable only for people who had previously been infected with the disease, spurring researchers at Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. to redouble efforts on an alternative. That work is finally paying off, with their version expected to hit the market early next year.
Dengue infections have jumped eightfold over the past two decades, to almost 400 million a year, according to researchers at the University of Oxford. About half the world’s population already lives in areas threatened by dengue, and scientists warn that climate change will likely hasten the spread of mosquitoes that carry the virus. Since 2013 the US has seen outbreaks in Florida, Hawaii and Texas. Europe saw local transmission in France and Croatia in 2010, and a 2012 outbreak on Portugal’s Madeira island resulted in more than 2,000 cases.
