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Vaccinating Smart, Not Blind: What Dengue Vaccination in Brazil Can Teach Us

The dengue vaccine trials are a perfect example of letting epidemiology guide the response. Otherwise, you’re blindly vaccinating everyone, which could lead to trouble.

René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH
Microbial Instincts
5 min readJan 16, 2025

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Close-up of a mosquito illuminated in a spotlight-like effect, standing on human skin with a visible drop of blood at the tip of its proboscis. The mosquito has green eyes and fine details of its legs, wings, and body are visible against the textured skin surface.
Human-Vector-Pathogen… Bad combo. (Image via Unsplash+)

The fight against dengue fever, a disease that reminds us all too often of the limits of modern medicine, took a decisive turn with the advent of the CYD-TDV vaccine (Dengvaxia®). The state of Paraná in southern Brazil became a proving ground for this vaccine between 2016 and 2018, targeting young adults in municipalities where dengue’s sting was most persistent. The full paper I read to write this story is here, and is cited at the end of this story.

Please note: the makers of the vaccine funded the research for this study. But the findings are consistent with what has been observed in other trials for dengue vaccine candidates.

As with all things epidemiological, the story of the vaccine in Paraná has many lessons for public health. You see, dengue fever isn’t just a tropical nuisance; it’s a global headache, with nearly half the world’s population at risk. Without a magic bullet treatment or cure, we rely on prevention — controlling mosquitoes, avoiding mosquito bites, and, when…

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Microbial Instincts
Microbial Instincts

Published in Microbial Instincts

Decoding the microbial angle to health and microbial world (under Medium Boost program).

René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH
René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH

Written by René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH

DrPH in Epidemiology. Public Health Instructor. Father. Husband. "All around great guy." https://linktr.ee/rene.najera

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