Dengue vaccines offer an impending solution to control this major global health problem.

Needs for Dengue Vaccines
A survey of policy makers and public health professionals in four South East Asian countries was conducted to determine policy makers’ views on the public health importance of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever, the need for the vaccines. The survey outcome revealed a uniformly high level of concern about dengue fever/DHF and a high and urgent perceived need for a dengue vaccine.

Disease Burden and Cost Effectiveness of a Pediatric Dengue Vaccine
The baseline disease burden of dengue in SE Asia for the cohort is 0.42 DALYs per 1000 population, of which 52% is due to premature mortality and 48% to acute morbidity. The baseline cost of treatment is US$ 99 per 1000 population per year. Although DHF constitutes only 6% of clinical cases, it represents 68% of the disease burden and 67% of the treatment costs. The economic feasibility of a pediatric tetravalent dengue vaccine was estimated to be highly cost-effective.

Dengue Vaccine in Development
Dengue 1-4 are single-stranded RNA viruses that produce short, self-limited illnesses in humans and readily induce life-long immunity. Closely related viruses, yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis, have been successfully prevented by live-attenuated vaccines. Existing technologies have resulted in several robust dengue vaccine candidates, but many challenges remain. The consensus is that a safe, broadly protective dengue vaccine for children can be achieved in a matter of years by a focused, intense effort.