WHO recommends use of Dengue vaccine Qdenga

The World Health Organisation (WHO) approved Qdenga dengue vaccine developed by Japanese company Takeda on Monday.

The WHO release said the live-attenuated quadrivalent dengue vaccine developed by Takeda (TAK-003) has demonstrated efficacy against all four serotypes of the virus in baseline seropositive children (4-16 years) in endemic countries and against serotypes 1 and 2 in baseline seronegative children.

SAGE recommended that the vaccine be considered for introduction in settings with high dengue disease burden and high transmission intensity to maximize the public health impact and minimize any potential risk in seronegative persons. 

SAGE recommended that the vaccine be introduced to children aged 6 to 16 years of age. Within this age range, the vaccine should be introduced about 1-2 years prior to the age-specific peak incidence of dengue-related hospitalizations.

The vaccine should be administered in a 2-dose schedule with a 3-month interval between doses.

SAGE recommended that vaccine introduction should be accompanied by a well-designed communication strategy and community engagement.