Cuban scientists adjust vaccine candidate against dengue fever

Havana, Mar 22 (Prensa Latina) The Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Cuba (CIGB) informed on Wednesday that the vaccine candidate against dengue fever is in the stage of primary adjustments before taking it to the production area.

‘At the CIGB, we are specifically in the pilot scale stage of the vaccine candidate against dengue fever, that is, an intermediate scale, in which primary adjustments are made before transferring the definite process to the productive areas,’ the institution wrote on its Twitter account.

Cuba’s project against dengue fever has a safe technological platform and is based on recombinant proteins, the CIGB pointed out.

We have a tetravalent candidate, based on proteins of all four dengue viruses, which we being evaluated at the moment,” a previous message from the center explained.

If the level of infection by the dengue virus, that is, the viral load, can be lowered, severity is avoided; even symptomatology is avoided.

‘That is what we are betting on with the vaccine candidate that we are developing: that the disease is subclinical or with mild symptoms,’ the CIGB commented.

Obtaining the vaccine is a complex process, because dengue fever has four serotypes and it is necessary to immunize against each of them at the same time for the vaccine to be effective.

A new rapid diagnostic system for this disease, on which experts from the Immunoassay Center are working, might be available in 2023.

This system will make it possible to determine, at the onset of the first symptoms, whether it is dengue fever or a second infection.

It will be used to administer a differentiated treatment to patients, and to prevent the aggravation or death of patients.