Recruitment of child participants begins for trial of new dengue vaccine

A phase three clinical trial is being conducted here to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new quadrivalent dengue vaccine in children aged two to 17.

- Zhaki Abdullah

Developed by US-based pharmaceutical firm MSD, V181 is a single-dose vaccine that aims to provide protection against all four serotypes, or strains, of the dengue virus.

Phase three clinical trials are typically the last stage of testing before a drug's details and clinical trial results are submitted to the regulatory authorities for approval.

The study's lead investigator in Singapore, Assistant Professor Chia Po Ying, noted that V181 is a live-attenuated vaccine, which uses weakened versions of all four dengue serotypes.

"Using the weakened forms of all these four dengue serotypes stimulates a human immune response to create protection against dengue infection in future," said Prof Chia, who also heads the National Centre for Infectious Diseases Research Office.

The new study here hopes to recruit at least 700 healthy children between the ages of two and 17, including both those who have previously contracted dengue and those who have never had the disease, said Dr Zhong Youjia, another investigator on the study.

This particular study focuses on children as they are more vulnerable to dengue and are also at a greater risk of severe infection, said the associate consultant at National University Hospital's (NUH) Khoo Teck Puat - National University Children's Medical Institute.

Side effects from the vaccine have been mild and short-lived, said Prof Chia, noting that they include muscle aches and fatigue.

Children enrolled in the study will be randomly chosen to get a single shot of either the vaccine or a placebo.