Japanese Encephalitis gets New Vaccine for Prevention in the Developing World

Japanese encephalitis will soon protect more children in developing countries easier with the access of a new vaccine. This vaccine which is manufactured in China needs to be given in one dose and can be used for infants. It is also less expensive than the other Japanese encephalitis vaccine.

The World Health Organization has added this vaccine to its list of prequalified medicines which means that WHO has given this vaccine its stamp of approval in terms of safety. This vaccine has now created history by being the first Chinese produced vaccine to have been prequalified by WHO.

The Director-General of WHO Dr. Margaret Chan said in a statement said, “This is a welcome development both in the fight to protect children in developing countries from JE and in the future availability of vaccines more generally, as China is now producing vaccines up to WHO standards. “There is a huge potential for vaccine manufacture in China and we hope to see more and more Chinese vaccines become WHO prequalified. The whole world will benefit.”

The disease is a major health problem in most parts of the world and it is endemic with seasonal distribution in parts of China, the Russian Federation’s south-east, and the South and South-East Asia. The bad news is that there is no definite treatment for Japanese encephalitis and supportive medical facility is very important to reduce the risk of death or disability. The good news is that this disease is now preventable with vaccines that have proved to be effective. The new vaccine is available to the world now.

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