Swissmedic approves vaccine against dengue fever
Published: Friday, Aug 2nd 2024, 11:50
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At the end of July, Swissmedic authorized a vaccine against dengue fever in Switzerland. The vaccine is recommended for people traveling to tropical and subtropical regions. Until now, no vaccine against this disease had been licensed in Switzerland.
The vaccine Qdenga from the manufacturer Takeda Pharma AG may be administered to adults, adolescents and children aged four and over, as announced by Swissmedic, the central Swiss regulatory authority for therapeutic products, on Friday. Two vaccinations are required for basic immunization.
Vaccination is recommended primarily for travel to Central Africa, Latin America, India and Southeast Asia. According to the communiqué, dengue fever also occurs in the south of the USA, in Texas.
Vaccination teaches the immune system to defend itself against the virus. When a person receives the vaccine, the immune system recognizes the weakened variant of the dengue virus as foreign and forms antibodies against it. Vaccination cannot cause disease, the report continued.
According to Swissmedic, dengue fever is a viral disease that is spread by infected mosquitoes. Symptoms such as fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea or skin rash usually occur four to seven days after the bite.
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