Dengue vaccine could be available in four years

A vaccine against the mosquito-borne infection dengue, the first to reach the final stage of clinical testing, "has seen 'very promising' results in Thailand, a specialist involved in the tests said on Friday," Reuters reports (Petty/Mahlich, 6/10). The vaccine, which is being developed by the French pharmaceutical group Sanofi, could be launched in four years, according to Agence France-Presse. Dengue, for which there is no treatment or cure, causes severe flu-like symptoms and infects about 50 million people worldwide annually, killing thousands, primarily in developing countries (6/10).