Top 10 Medical Innovations according to the Cleveland Clinic (2)
Specialists of the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, have compiled another annual list of innovations that, in their opinion, will have the greatest impact on the healthcare system in the coming 2015.
No. 2. Dengue fever vaccine
Tropical fever, or dengue fever, is a severe viral disease transmitted to humans through the bite of an Aedes aegypti mosquito that has previously bitten an infected person.
Half of the world's population is at risk of infection with dengue fever, which is by far the fastest-spreading tropical disease transmitted by mosquito bites.
According to WHO statistics, every year more than 50-100 million people in more than 100 countries develop an acute form of the disease. The population of subtropical regions of Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America is mainly at risk of infection. However, the disease has already begun to spread across India, Japan, Puerto Rico and some US states (the Virgin Islands, part of Florida and the border regions between Texas and Mexico). Recent cases of the disease in Portugal indicate that climate change may contribute to the spread of dengue fever in southern Europe.
Symptoms of the disease, which often persist for two weeks, usually include severe fever, rash, headache, cramps, as well as muscle and joint pain. In severe cases, especially when children are infected, hospitalization is required. Every year, the disease leads to the death of 20,000 people.
The disease is based on complex biological mechanisms that are difficult to study. To date, there are no effective means for its treatment and prevention. The main difficulty that hindered the development of the vaccine is the existence of four closely related, but different from each other subspecies of the virus – serotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Immunity against one of them does not provide protection from the other three serotypes. Moreover, the prevalence of different serotypes varies greatly in different regions of the world.
The first vaccine against dengue fever, the development of which lasted more than 20 years, is currently undergoing a placebo-controlled phase III clinical trial conducted in 5 regions of Asia with the participation of children aged 2-14 years. Three injections of the vaccine, carried out over 2 years, ensured the formation of effective immunity in almost 60% of 60,000 children. The level of protection from serotypes 3 and 4 was 75%, from serotype 1 – 50%, and from serotype 2 – 35%. The probability of developing hemorrhagic fever, a life–threatening complication for children under 10 years of age, decreased by 80% after vaccination.
Comparable results were obtained in clinical studies conducted in Latin America with the participation of more than 20,000 children aged 9-16 years.
Despite the fact that the effectiveness of the experimental vaccine is recognized as moderate, its use can significantly reduce the burden on the health care of affected countries, as well as reduce human suffering and increase the productivity of their work. It is expected that at the beginning of 2015, permission will be obtained for the use of a new vaccine, which will appear on the market within a year.
Against the background of the increasing threat of the spread of dengue fever, work is actively underway on other vaccines. However, according to experts, they will appear on the market no earlier than 2017.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the Cleveland Clinic: Top 10 Innovations for 2015.
11.12.2014