Severe Dengue

RAHWAY, N.J., Oct. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection that when mild, can cause flu-like symptoms. But in a more severe form, the virus can also lead to internal bleeding, organ damage, and death. For individuals living or traveling where dengue is common, there are important things to know to minimize your risk. In a new editorial from MerckManuals.com, Thomas M. Yuill, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, shares information and advice. 1. Not all mosquitoes carry dengue Dengue is spread to people through the bites of infected Aedes species mosquitoes, says Yuill. Each year, about 50 to 100 million cases of dengue and about 20,000 deaths occur worldwide. However, in the United States, only about 100 to 200 cases occur annually, with nearly all brought in by travelers returning from other countries, says Yuill. 2. Dengue is spreading to new areas Dengue is common in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. It is often found in Southeast Asia but has become more prevalent in recent years in Central and South America, including countries like Brazil. At the same time, Aedes mosquitoes are turning up in new places due to human activity and a changing climate. In the United States, they've been found in states including Florida, Southern California, Texas, Arizona and the Midwest. A few cases of locally transmitted dengue have occurred in Hawaii, Florida and Texas. 3. Dengue comes in three phases Dengue symptoms typically begin suddenly, causing fever, chills, a severe headache, pain when the eyes are moved, extreme fatigue and severe generalized body aches, particularly in the back, legs, and joints. These symptoms typically last for a few days, after which patients begin to feel better for about 24 hours. "People may think they're out of the woods, but then the fever can return, along with more serious effects, including dengue hemorrhagic fever, bleeding and shock," says Yuill. 4. Dengue is not contagious In a vast majority of instances, people with dengue cannot transmit it to others, says Yuill. A mosquito can transmit it by biting a person with an infection and then biting someone else. Although uncommon, a pregnant woman can pass the dengue virus to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth. 5. There is currently no vaccine against new cases The only dengue vaccine currently available in the United States is approved for children who have been previously infected and live in an area where the disease is common, says Yuill. There are a number of vaccines in development that can be used for individuals who have not had prior dengue infections as well as those who have. 6. Travelers need to take precautions Anyone traveling to parts of the world where dengue is common should take steps to protect themselves and their fellow travelers. "When traveling, the same best practices around avoiding all mosquito bites apply," says Yuill. Wear light-colored, long-sleeved, loose-fitting clothing. Use insect repellant. Some repellants are increasingly being added to sunscreens. Just be sure to check the labels before using any product on children. 7. Travelers should watch for symptoms Symptoms of dengue typically begin about three to 15 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Often, a traveler only starts to feel sick after they return home. If you've traveled to an area where dengue is present and start to feel sick, it's essential to provide travel details when talking to your doctor, says Yuill. To read more of Yuill's insights on dengue, visit this editorial on MerckManuals.com. About The Merck Manuals and MSD Manuals First published in 1899 as a small reference book for physicians and pharmacists, The Merck Manual grew in size and scope to become one of the world's most widely used comprehensive medical resources for professionals and consumers. As The Manual evolved, it continually expanded the reach and depth of its offerings to reflect the mission of providing the best medical information to a wide cross-section of users, including medical professionals and students, veterinarians and veterinary students, and consumers. In 2015, The Manuals kicked off Global Medical Knowledge 2020, a global initiative with the goal to make the best current medical information accessible by up to three billion professionals and patients around the world by 2020. The Manuals achieved that goal, and today its medical information is available in nearly 250 countries and in 14 languages. It's continuing its ambitious mission through outreach, education and creating new reliable medical resources. For access to thousands of medical topics with images, videos and a constantly expanding set of resources, visit MerckManuals.com or MSDManuals.com and connect with us on social media: For Consumers in the U.S. and its territories: X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. For Professionals in the U.S. and its territories: X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook About Merck At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit and connect with us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. SOURCE The Merck Manuals WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

SEOUL, South Korea, April 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- South Korea's biotechnology company Hyundai Bioscience (CEO Oh Sang-gi, ) announced on April 15 that it would carry out global clinical tests aimed at treating all serotypes of Dengue virus infection. "The fundamental way to deal with Dengue fever is taking the antiviral drug, which is effective on all four serotypes of the Dengue virus, in the early stage of virus infection," CEO Oh said. "To win emergency use authorization (EUA), we are planning basket clinical trials in such regions as Mid/South America and Southeast Asia." After the COVID-19 pandemic is tamed, a mounting number of people are diagnosed with Dengue fever, a viral infection that spreads through mosquitoes. The number of Dengue patients in 2024 amounts to 3.58 million in the Americas, about three times more than 2023, while those stand at about 8,200 in Thailand and 18,000 in Malaysia. Dengue deaths have been 758 in Brazil this year. The death toll exceeded 1,030 in Bangladesh last year. Against this backdrop, a host of countries in the Americas and Asia declared a public health emergency due to Dengue. However, there is currently no treatment for Dengue fever, which was first confirmed in 1953. During the past 70 years, the world has failed to develop Dengue drugs because of the following two reasons. First, the drug needs to be effective on all four serotypes of Dengue virus (DENV1, DENV2, DENV3, and DENV4). The four Dengue serotypes are different in their genomes and may show differing clinical symptoms after infection. Those who recover from an infection with one Dengue serotype have immunity against that particular one only, and they can be infected with any of the remaining three Dengue serotypes. Worse, subsequent Dengue infections have a higher risk to result in severe Dengue such as Dengue hemorrhagic fever. Second, Dengue antiviral should be administered in the early stages to properly deal with the Dengue virus. Dengue symptoms typically occur 4 to 10 days after infection. The Dengue virus quickly surges to the highest level in 2 to 4 days from the symptom onset, causing severe cellular damage along with such potential complications as hemorrhage and thrombocytopenia. Symptoms of Dengue fever are similar to those generated by other mosquito-borne Zika and Chikungunya viruses. As it takes time to diagnose Dengue infection in addition to the symptom onset, patients may suffer from severe cellular damage even after they are treated. Hence, a broad-spectrum antiviral drug effective on all such mosquito-borne viruses is necessary to treat Dengue fever and similar mosquito-borne illnesses. Hyundai Bioscience has come up with a fundamental way to tackle the difficulties in developing the Dengue drug. Hyundai Bioscience has succeeded in re-purposing niclosamide, which has been proven to have antiviral efficacy against four serotypes of dengue virus through past in vitro studies. Despite niclosamide's broad-spectrum antiviral activity, researchers failed to develop niclosamide-based antivirals due to its low absorption and short half-life. Yet, Hyundai Bioscience tackled the challenges with bio-friendly inorganic substances and polymers based on its proprietary drug delivery system (DDS) technology, Hyundai Bioscience proved through a clinical test that a niclosamide-based drug, called Xafty®, can safely and effectively treat COVID-19 by shortening the time required to improve COVID-19 symptoms. In vitro studies showed that niclosamide had antiviral effects against not only four serotypes of Dengue fever but also Zika and Chikungunya viruses. Recently, Hyundai Bioscience completed the development of a niclosamide-based formulation to treat Dengue fever with a drug concentration level at or above 50% viral inhibition (IC50), which can also work on Zika, Chikungunya, and Yellow fever viruses. With the new drug, patients with Dengue fever symptoms can be treated early without having to verify whether they are caused by the Dengue virus or other mosquito-borne ones. Such early treatment can also prevent the Dengue viral load from reaching the peak, thus helping patients recover. In the near future, Hyundai Bioscience plans to initiate clinical studies in America and Southeast Asia with the aim of emergency use authorization. Candidate countries in the Americas are Puerto Rico and Brazil while those in Asia are Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam. As niclosamide was proven to be effective in all serotypes of Dengue fever, and the niclosamide-based drug showed its safety through pre-clinical and clinical studies, prompt later-stage clinical development of the Dengue antiviral is possible to receive emergency use authorization. In particular, Hyundai Bioscience plans to design basket clinical trials to test not only patients of the four Dengue virus serotypes but also those infected with other mosquito-borne viruses, including Zika, and Chikungunya. "The success of our future clinical study may lead to emergency use authorization as the world's first Dengue antiviral," Hyundai Bioscience USA CEO Kim Kyung-il said. "That means that the world will have the first-ever broad-spectrum antiviral drug just like penicillin, which can deal with various bacteria at the same time." About Hyundai Bioscience Hyundai Bioscience is a biotechnology company that develops drugs based on its novel drug delivery system technologies to deliver active ingredients safely and efficiently to targeted areas of the human body. Founded in 2000, Hyundai Bioscience focuses on repurposing or expanding indications of existing drugs using its proprietary organic-inorganic hybrid technologies. Hyundai Bioscience is a public company listed on KOSDAQ (symbol: 048410) in South Korea. For more information, please contact Joobin Jung, Global Marketing Manager ([email protected]). SOURCE Hyundai Bioscience

Pictured: Takeda office in Massachusetts/iStock, hapabapa Takeda has voluntarily withdrawn the Biologics License Application for its dengue vaccine candidate TAK-003 following discussions with the FDA regarding additional data collection, the Japanese pharma company announced Tuesday. According to Takeda, it will not be able to address the regulator’s concerns within the current BLA review cycle. The company is currently assessing its future options and plans for TAK-003, as well as evaluating the requirements for a potential BLA resubmission in the U.S., a spokesperson told Fierce Pharma. The FDA accepted Takeda’s BLA for TAK-003 in November 2022 and put the application under Priority Review, which typically results in a decision within six months versus the standard 10-month review period. “We will continue to progress regulatory reviews and provide access for people living in and traveling to dengue-endemic areas while we work to determine next steps in the U.S.,” Gary Dubin, president of Takeda’s vaccines business unit, said in a statement. TAK-003 is a tetravalent live-attenuated vaccine candidate that can induce immunity for all four major dengue serotypes. In a large mid-stage trial, Takeda demonstrated that immunization with TAK-003 led to high antibody titers in children and teens, regardless if they were seropositive or seronegative at baseline. The immune response persisted for up to 48 months post-dose. Takeda followed up the Phase II data with the pivotal Phase III TIDES trial, which met its primary endpoint of overall vaccine efficacy. TIDES enrolled nearly 21,000 participants across several dengue-endemic areas in Latin America and Asia, who were enrolled at a 2:1 ratio to receive either TAK-003 or a placebo. The study’s primary endpoint is vaccine efficacy and safety calculated through 12 months after the second dose. TAK-003 had a vaccine efficacy of 80.2% against virologically confirmed dengue in the per-protocol analysis and a 95.4% efficacy rate against dengue leading to hospitalization. At the 17-month follow-up, TAK-003 had an efficacy rate of 90.4% against hospitalized dengue and 85.9% against dengue hemorrhagic fever. In a statement to Fierce Pharma, the Takeda spokesperson said that the FDA had previously reviewed and approved the trial design for TIDES, but during discussions with the company asked for more data that were beyond the scope of the study. TIDES is designed in accordance with “World Health Organization (WHO) guidance for a second-generation dengue vaccine, and it considered the need to achieve high levels of subject retention and protocol compliance in endemic regions,” Takeda said in a statement Tuesday. TAK-003 is approved in Thailand, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, the UK and the EU, where it is marketed under the brand name Qdenga. Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in metro Manila, Philippines. He can be reached at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.