Vaccinations Against Dengue Could Increase Zika Outbreak
Highlights
- Outbreaks of dengue and Zika are increasing worldwide.
- More than a third of the world's population live in areas where dengue is endemic and cases of co-infection with Zika have already been reported.
- Recent research shows that vaccinations for dengue increase the number of people contracting Zika.
- This is because dengue virus antibodies can enhance the Zika virus infection.
Vaccinating against dengue fever could increase outbreaks of Zika, warns a study by a team of researchers from Canada and China.
According to the World Health Organization, the global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades, with about half of the world's population now at risk.
‘The most effective way to minimize the unintended effect of dengue vaccinations on Zika outbreaks is through an integrated strategy that includes mosquito control.’
In some Asian and Latin American countries, severe dengue is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children.
Whereas the outbreaks of Zika have occurred in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, and has been linked to microcephaly and Guillain-Barr� syndrome.
The study, Implication of vaccination against dengue for Zika outbreak, published in the journal Scientific Reports, identifies a potentially serious public health concern.
More than a third of the world's population lives in areas where dengue is endemic and cases of co-infection with Zika have already been reported, according to the study.
As dengue and Zika are both part of the Flaviviridae family transmitted through a common mosquito host, the researchers wanted to know how vaccinating for one would affect the incidence of the other.
"Vaccinating against one virus could not only affect the control of another virus, it could in fact make it easier for the other to spread," said one of the researchers Jianhong Wu, Professor at York University in Toronto, Canada.
"Recent evidence suggests that dengue virus antibodies can enhance the Zika virus infection. For that reason, we developed a new math model to investigate the effect of dengue vaccination on Zika outbreaks," Wu said.
The team's model showed that vaccinations for dengue increase the number of people contracting Zika.
It also showed that the more people in a particular population that are vaccinated against dengue, the earlier and larger the Zika outbreak.
The research also found that the most effective way to minimize the unintended effect of dengue vaccinations on Zika outbreaks is through an integrated strategy that includes mosquito control.
"We concluded that vaccination against dengue among humans can significantly boost Zika transmission among the population and hence call for further study on integrated control measures on controlling dengue and Zika outbreak," Yanni Xiao, Professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University in China, said.
The researchers noted that their findings do not discourage the development and promotion of dengue vaccine products, however, more work needs to be done to understand how to optimize dengue vaccination programs and minimize the risk of Zika outbreaks.
Although vaccines for dengue have been developed and are in use, there is currently no vaccine for Zika.
Source: Medindia
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Dr. Meenakshy Varier. (2016, November 01). Vaccinations Against Dengue Could Increase Zika Outbreak. Medindia. Retrieved on Nov 22, 2024 from https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/vaccinations-against-dengue-could-increase-zika-outbreak-164807-1.htm.
MLA
Dr. Meenakshy Varier. "Vaccinations Against Dengue Could Increase Zika Outbreak". Medindia. Nov 22, 2024. <https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/vaccinations-against-dengue-could-increase-zika-outbreak-164807-1.htm>.
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Dr. Meenakshy Varier. "Vaccinations Against Dengue Could Increase Zika Outbreak". Medindia. https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/vaccinations-against-dengue-could-increase-zika-outbreak-164807-1.htm. (accessed Nov 22, 2024).
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Dr. Meenakshy Varier. 2016. Vaccinations Against Dengue Could Increase Zika Outbreak. Medindia, viewed Nov 22, 2024, https://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/vaccinations-against-dengue-could-increase-zika-outbreak-164807-1.htm.