US health authorities have approved the world’s first vaccine against chikungunya, a virus spread by infected mosquitoes that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has called “an emerging threat to global health”.
The vaccine, developed by Europe’s Valneva and which will be marketed under the name Ixchiq, has been approved for people aged 18 and over who are at increased risk of exposure, the FDA said. The US drug regulator’s green light for Ixchiq is expected to speed up the rollout of the vaccine in countries where the virus is most widespread. Chikungunya, which causes fever and severe joint pain, is generally found in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of the Americas. “However, the chikungunya virus has spread to new geographic areas causing an increase in the global prevalence of the disease,” the FDA said, reporting more than five million cases over the past 15 years.
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2023-11-10 02:32:00
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