Mexico approves world’s first dengue vaccine

Mexico’s Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) has approved a vaccine against dengue fever – the first ever vaccine to be approved for this mosquito-borne disease.

The World Health Organization estimates that half of the world’s population is at risk from dengue. Its symptoms include fever, joint pain and vomiting, which can become lethal.

Dengvaxia from Sanofi’s vaccines division, Sanofi Pasteur, protects against all four dengue virus serotypes and will be aimed at residents in endemic areas aged nine to 45. Although this does not cover very young children, who are often most vulnerable to the disease, Sanofi chief executive Olivier Brandicourt hailed the approval as ‘a historic milestone for our company, for the global public health community and, most importantly, for half the world’s population who live at risk of dengue’.