Regional coalition calls on governments in Asia to collaborate and combat growing dengue threat

Globally, Asia has highest dengue burden with estimated 67 million sufferers each year

The Asian Dengue Vaccination Advocacy (ADVA) is calling for collaboration and integration of regional efforts among governments and health authorities in Asia to wage war on dengue and to ‘open a new chapter’ in dengue prevention and control, at the inauguration of the Asian Dengue Summit in Bangkok on January 13, 2016.

ADVA, a scientific working group, is staging the two-day summit in partnership with the Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI), the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network (SEAMEO TROPMED) and Fondation M e rieux (FMx).

The ADVA coalition intends to leverage its knowledge and expertise to help governments in the region curb the growing dengue burden. Leading regional clinicians, researchers, public health leaders, government officials and policymakers are expected to attend the Summit to share and exchange their scientific findings and dengue prevention and treatment experiences from their countries. Professor Duane Gubler, Professor at the Duke- National University Singapore Graduate Medical School Singapore, a world renowned expert in dengue is one of the speakers at the event.

Asia has the highest dengue burden globally with an estimated 67 million people contracting the disease each year. Endemic countries in Asia have spent nearly $6.5 billion annually in both direct medical and indirect costs due to dengue.

With the availability of the world’s first dengue vaccine, countries in Asia will soon have an effective tool to combat the virus. So far, three countries in the world, Mexico, Philippines and Brazil, have approved the dengue vaccine for individuals aged 9 to 45 years.

Professor Usa Thisyakorn, Professor of Pediatrics at Chulalongkorn University and Chairman of ADVA, described the staging of the Summit in Bangkok as both ‘timely and urgent’, and said that the availability of the first dengue vaccine in Asia, newly approved by the Philippines regulators, is a historic milestone in the war on dengue.

Reportedly, the Summit will explore how to harmonise regional integrated efforts and enable coordinated action as many countries in the region are facing spikes in dengue outbreaks; just this month, Singapore reported a surge in dengue reported cases. The National Environment Agency reported a total of 455 dengue cases in the week ending January 2 2016, an increase of 86 more cases than the week before. This is the highest number of cases recorded in a week in 2015.

“The Summit will look at holistic and integrated regional approaches to fight dengue. As more countries approve the use of the vaccine, information sharing and capacity building will play a critical role in the development of their vaccine implementation strategies. While much work lies ahead, we are closer to writing a new chapter in dengue prevention and control,” said Prof Thisyakorn.

“For the successful implementation of the dengue vaccination programme, we need regional concerted efforts to ensure that collaborative policies around the region are set in place. By bringing together key stakeholders, ADVA hopes to jointly formulate a strategy to enable better control and management of dengue across the region,” Prof Thisyakorn added.

Advocating the need for regional collaboration, Prof Gubler said, “The ability of the virus to travel makes it critical that we adopt an integrated model to prevent the introduction of the dengue virus into new areas, or the introduction of new strains into already endemic settings. This means every country needs to successfully contain the spread of dengue as it can have a ripple effect across the region”.

“Effective prevention and disease management will require the integration of both vaccine and mosquito control measures. Vaccination has proven to be integral in the management of vector-borne diseases, and we will see this in the case of dengue. The arrival in Asia of the first dengue vaccine will be a game changer in dengue prevention,” Prof Gubler added.

Dr Raman Velayudhan, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director at the Department of Vector Ecology and Neglected Tropical Diseases, a keynote speaker at the Summit said, “A complex disease like dengue requires an inclusive approach that looks beyond just the health sector. By reorienting health services to identify early cases, implementing appropriate management of severe cases and training health personnel together with coordinated surveillance, we can be one step closer to reducing dengue mortality by 50 per cent and morbidity by 25 per cent by 2020 in endemic countries. We have also seen that effective communication can achieve behavioural outcomes and add to prevention programmes.”

The two-day Summit will cover a broad and comprehensive overview of the current endemic and its cross-border management. It will address the necessary measures and governmental policies needed to implement a dengue vaccination programme and seek solutions to the practical issues for dengue programmes. Other than the Philippines, licensing approval for the dengue vaccine is expected in more countries across the region.