World's first Dengue fever vaccine developed in Thailand

The vaccine, tentatively called DengueVac, is currently being tested in human trials and could be ready for worldwide distribution as early as 2004.

"We have been working on the vaccine for the past eleven years and are confident that it will be ready for global use in 2004 or 2007 latest," Professor Natth Bhamarapravati of Mahidol University's Center for Vaccine Development told the conference.

The university has been working on the vaccine with the support of pharmaceutical giant Aventis Pasteur Merieux, which specialises in the development and mass production of vaccines.

"The vaccine is currently in the human trial phase and results so far have been very promising," Bhamarapravati said. He added that the vaccine would also be effective against Dengue Haemorrhagic fever. The vaccine will be the first ever to have been developed by a developing nation such as Thailand.

Bhamarapravati said that the fact that the vaccine was being developed in a "third world" country had roused suspicion when it came to asking for the support of pharmaceutical companies.

"We definitely faced a credibility problem when we approached pharmaceutical companies. They reacted with suspicion that we would actually be able to develop an effective vaccine with our own resources," Bhamarapravati said.

Aventis will manufacture the vaccine once it is ready for production. For their cooperation efforts, the company will receive from Mahidol University exclusive production and marketing rights for twenty years in return for a technology transfer fee.

The university will also receive royalties, the percentage amount of which has not been disclosed, if the vaccine is being licensed out to public health ministries around the globe. "This vaccine will cover all Dengue Fever serotypes, four of which are currently known, as well as the virus' two genotypes and thus will effectively combat Dengue Fever globally," Bhamarapravati concluded.

Dengue fever is a virus infection carried by mosquitoes, the symptoms of which include fever, headache, and severe muscle and joint pains. The disease is fatal in about 0.5 per cent of cases.

Dengue fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic fever, both caused by the same virus, have spread throughout the world's tropical and sub-tropical regions in the past twenty years and trigger regular epidemics.

The disease has been widely ignored by governments and only recently have efforts been undertaken to contain it.

(la/dpa)