Guest voldemar Posted June 17, 2011 Posted June 17, 2011 Sorry, I cannot find the link to the article indicating that Sanofi-Aventis finishing its trial in Thailand of their Dengue fever vaccine. The trial was successful and vaccine is expected to be available by 2015. See also a link below. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-27/duke-singapore-school-inviragen-to-work-on-dengue-vaccine.html Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted June 17, 2011 Posted June 17, 2011 I am not sure if this Reuters link of 10 June is the one to which voldemar refers, but it is more up to date with the details. It states that whilst the trial will not be completed until next year, present indications are very positive. (Reuters) - The world's first trial of a dengue fever vaccine being developed by France's Sanofi Pasteur and due for release in 2014 has seen "very promising" results in Thailand, a specialist involved in the tests said on Friday . . . Initial results from the study in Thailand, one of 15 countries included in a wider clinical study program being undertaken by the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis, will not be announced until the end of next year. The Thai trial, which began in 2009, involved 4,000 children and showed progress in its first two years, with none of the participants experiencing serious reactions to the vaccine produced by the unit of "It's very promising. The vaccine has been shown to be safe," said Arunee Sabcharoen, emeritus professor of tropical pediatrics at Bangkok's Mahidol University and the principal investigator in the Thai tests. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/10/us-sanofi-dengue-thailand-idUSTRE7592CG20110610 Quote
Guest voldemar Posted June 17, 2011 Posted June 17, 2011 There was also an article in Bangkok Post and another one in Bloomberg. There is no doubt that vaccine will materialize... Quote
Rogie Posted June 17, 2011 Posted June 17, 2011 I came across this interesting-looking tie-in between Google and dengue fever: Google uses new tool to track dengue fever hubs Google is using search patterns about dengue fever in an attempt to help health officials prepare for outbreaks. It hopes to develop an early-warning system by monitoring dengue-related search terms by users in Bolivia, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Singapore. Google said that its results are collected in real-time, whereas official data can take weeks to be analysed. In 2009, Google used a similar approach to track the spread of flu. "Using the dengue case count data provided by Ministries of Health and the World Health Organization, we're able to build a model that offers near real-time estimates of dengue activity based on the popularity of certain search terms," Google software engineer Vikram Sahai wrote in a blog post. "Google Dengue Trends is automatically updated every day, thereby providing an early indicator of dengue activity." The tool is part of Google Correlate, a new service which connects search analysis with data collected in real life. Correlate was created following Google's success with Flu Trends in 2009, a tool which tracked searches for flu-related searches worldwide. Public health officials were able to use the data to distribute vaccines and treatments more effectively. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13599859 Quote
Guest Posted June 17, 2011 Posted June 17, 2011 This is a good step forwards. Also, it's time they made some progress in eliminating Malaria from SE Asia. I believe there are some strains with increased drug resistance in Cambodia. Quote
Guest voldemar Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 This is a good step forwards. Also, it's time they made some progress in eliminating Malaria from SE Asia. I believe there are some strains with increased drug resistance in Cambodia. One big difference between malaria and dengue fever is that latter is caused by virus and involves several strains (not unlike HIV). Creation a vaccine in such a case is extremely difficult (US military labs tried it for decades). Now, if there was similar progress with HIV vaccine, that could really make a huge difference... Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 One big difference between malaria and dengue fever is that latter is caused by virus and involves several strains (not unlike HIV). When I was at the Iguazu Falls in the Brazil/Argentina jungle late last year, I was concerned about the malaria risks. I checked at several hospitals in Bangkok and was told there are two basic medications for South America. One is a long course of capsules taken before breakfast, starting two days before likely exposure and lasting until 30 days after. The other is a much shorter course of only 2 or 3 tablets (sorry, cannot recall the name). Unfortunately, these tablets are not available anywhere in South East Asia! I duly started taking the capsules, but found they made me feel quite sick. Asking other travellers what medications they were taking, the universal reply was - "None". So I gave up and instead relied on lathering strong mosquito repellant on exposed skin. Quote
Guest Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 One big difference between malaria and dengue fever is that latter is caused by virus and involves several strains (not unlike HIV). Practically, the tourist needs to avoid mosquitoes for both in some SE Asian countries. If there is a safe Dengue Fever vaccine and Malaria could be driven out of SE Asia, in the same way the US managed it, then mosquitoes become less of a concern. Quote
Guest voldemar Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 Practically, the tourist needs to avoid mosquitoes for both in some SE Asian countries. If there is a safe Dengue Fever vaccine and Malaria could be driven out of SE Asia, in the same way the US managed it, then mosquitoes become less of a concern. Unfortunately, it may or may not be true. There are some other similar diseases spread by mosquitoes. When I lived in Singapore, there were regular updates about possible so-called clusters of dengue fever and some other less prominent deseases of this type (do not remember exact names). In practical terms, if dengue fever is eliminated in Thailand due to vaccination, it sooner or later will be substituted by something else. But , of course, in the long run we are all dead, anyway. Quote
Guest Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 in the long run we are all dead, anyway. There's no need to accelerate that process. I hope to enjoy another 30 years of debauchery first. Quote
Rogie Posted June 18, 2011 Posted June 18, 2011 But , of course, in the long run we are all dead, anyway. Chin up, old boy. I hope to enjoy another 30 years of debauchery first. That's the spirit. Quote
