Dengue summits galore

This month of June is a busy one for weddings and for dengue summits as well.

- RAYMUND W. LO, MD, FPSP

The 8th Asia Dengue Summit 2025 was held June 15-18 and the Philippine Medical Association held its Second Dengue Summit on June 25th.

Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the first, but I attended the second PMA Dengue Summit as the representative of the Philippine Society of Pathologists Inc., the only association for pathologists recognized by the PMA. The keynote speaker was Secretary of Health Dr. Teodoro Herbosa who delivered a talk on various aspects of dengue control.

I was disappointed to hear that the FDA still has to decide on Qdenga application due to questions raised about the vaccine. This is in spite of Takeda submitting its brief on the response to these questions back in April 2025. I had written about Qdenga before (Deep dive into the new dengue vaccine, March 10, 2025).

The morning session featured the WHO report on dengue around the world by the WHO Philippines Team Lead, Communicable Diseases and Technical Officer, Dr. Bayo S. Fatunmbi, who flashed the map that showed the Philippines in white, meaning there was no data submitted for year 2024.