A public research institute in Brazil has developed a promising single-dose vaccine offering strong protection against dengue, a timely discovery given the current severe outbreak across Latin America.
The new vaccine effectively combats all four dengue virus strains, potentially improving future outbreak responses.
Despite this breakthrough, production delays mean the vaccine won't be available in time to combat the current or possibly even the next outbreak cycle.
Brazil faces specific challenges, as the new vaccine will initially only be available domestically, leaving other Latin American countries to wait for alternative solutions.
Why this matters:
A more effective vaccine could reduce the incidence and severity of the disease, easing the burden on healthcare systems and improving public health outcomes. This is particularly crucial as climate change could expand the habitats of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, potentially increasing the risk areas for the disease.
Rising temperatures, fluctuations in precipitation patterns and extreme weather events are all affecting the life cycles and habitats of mosquitoes that carry malaria.
For decades, the world seemed to be winning the war against mosquitoes and tamping down the deadly diseases they carried. But in the past few years, progress has not only stalled, it has reversed.
The World Health Organization has warned that dengue and other diseases caused by mosquito-borne arboviruses were spreading far faster and further amid climate change, warning global outbreaks could be looming.
