This week, Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa, for its acronym in Portuguese) approved… The world’s first single-dose dengue vaccine.
the Butantan-DV It was developed by the Butantan Institute in São Paulo and is designed for People between the ages of 12 and 59 It will be included in the Brazilian national immunization program starting in 2026. The advantage of being able to offer it in one application is that It will facilitate public acceptance And dissemination of vaccination campaigns.
that it Quadrivalent vaccine Which is used Live attenuated virus technology – The same vaccine used by other vaccines, e.g The viral trio (Measles, mumps and rubella). Varicella wave Yellow fever– And to him Overall efficiency 74.7% Against symptomatic dengue fever according to phase III results. Moreover, it produced A 91.6% reduction against severe dengue And with warning signs and 100% against hospitalization for dengue feverButantan reported.
Butantan-DV consists of Four serotypes of dengue virus It has been shown to be safe and effective in people who have had the disease and those who have never come into contact with the virus. On the other hand, most Negative feedback The institute reported that symptoms were mild to moderate – mainly pain and redness at the injection site, headache and fatigue – while serious events related to the vaccine were rare and all people recovered.
the study It was held between 2016 and 2014, and 16,000 people participated From 12 to 59 years old from 14 states in Brazil, and previous results were published in specialized journals such as New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet Infectious Diseases.
On the other hand, the institute has already obtained approval from Anvisa The vaccine was tested in people aged 60 to 79 years. If the results are positive, you can ask the Brazilian health agency to include that condition in the vaccination. Butantan also plans to expand the age range for children.
The institute linked to the São Paulo State Secretariat of Health has already done this Produced about 1,000,000 vaccinesAlthough the Ministry of Health has yet to confirm the start of vaccination and the age group for application. It also recently signed an agreement with the Chinese laboratory WuXui Increase production capacity to about 30 million Units for the second half of 2026.
So far this year, Brazil has recorded 1.6 million cases of dengue fever. However, last year was one of the worst years for the neighboring country: There were 6.5 million dengue cases recorded, four times more than in 2023. Since the early 2000s, more than 20 million Brazilians have been infected with the disease.
in ArgentinaNational Food, Drug, and Medical Technology Administration (I grow) The TAK-003 or Qdega vaccine from the Japanese Takeda laboratory was approved in 2023.
It is also a live attenuated viral vaccine It is applied in two doses, three months apart. The vaccine is based on dengue virus 2, to which DNA from the other three serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-3, and DEN 4) is added to protect against any of the four types of dengue.
It is intended for people over four years of age and has also been approved by health agencies in Brazil, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.