India has approved its very first dengue vaccine after health authorities authorised the deployment of the Qdenga jab, which is produced by Japanese pharmaceutical firm Takeda.
Dengue fever causes severe flu-like illness alongside intense body pains. Infections have surged worldwide recently, driven by global warming and rapid urban expansion in crowded cities.
India's primary drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, has cleared the jab for individuals aged between four and 60 years. The decision followed an extensive review of the medicine's safety, quality, and clinical success.
Health ministry officials confirmed that the treatment aims to prevent dengue disease in both children and adults.
The Qdenga regimen requires two separate injections administered three months apart.
To scale up domestic production, Takeda has formed a partnership with Indian manufacturer Biological E. This arrangement will allow local facilities to produce large volumes of the jab.
The medical injection protects against all four distinct serotypes of the dengue virus. It has already secured regulatory approval across 42 nations, including Britain, Switzerland, Indonesia, and members of the European Union.
The World Health Organization has also granted prequalification status to the treatment.
So far, the company has supplied more than 24 million doses globally. The health ministry noted that its international deployment has not identified any major safety issues.
Dengue has spread rapidly across tropical and subtropical regions due to changing weather patterns, high humidity, and dense housing.
World Health Organization estimates show that almost half of the global population faces potential exposure, with between 100 million and 400 million infections occurring every year.
Official data shows that India has recorded over one million dengue cases and at least 1,500 deaths since 2021.
The country is also preparing to introduce a locally developed alternative. Medical candidate DengiAll, created by Panacea Biotec, has reached the final stage of clinical testing.
If health regulators approve the candidate, it will become one of the world's first single-dose dengue vaccines.
