Europe opinions Valneva’s chikungunya vaccine

Context:

The European Medicines Company (EMA) has quickly suspended using Valneva’s chikungunya vaccine (Ixchiq) in adults aged 65 and above because of experiences of significant adversarial occasions, together with two deaths.

Relevance : GS2(Well being)

Chikungunya

• Pathogen: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV)
• Household: Togaviridae
• Genus: Alphavirus
• Kind: RNA virus
• First Recognized: 1952, in Tanzania

Transmission:

• Main vectors: Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes (additionally vectors for Dengue, Zika).
• Mode of unfold: Mosquito chew (not human-to-human immediately).
• Most transmission happens throughout the daytime (mosquitoes are diurnal).

Signs:

• Incubation: 2 to 7 days
• Key signs:

Excessive fever, Extreme joint ache ,Rash,Muscle ache, Headache, Fatigue

• Joint ache can persist for weeks or months, particularly in older people.

Therapy & Prevention:

• No particular antiviral remedy.
• Supportive care: Relaxation, fluids, analgesics

 International Affect:

• Endemic in: Africa, Asia, Indian subcontinent, Caribbean, Americas.
• India has had frequent outbreaks since 2006.
• Latest outbreaks in Italy (2007, 2017), France (2010), and Latin America.

 Vaccines:

• No broadly deployed vaccine till just lately.
• Valneva’s Ixchiq:
  • First authorized vaccine (by US FDA in 2023)
  • Dwell-attenuated formulation
  • EMA at present reviewing security because of adversarial occasions in aged
• Different vaccines underneath trial: VLA1553, Bharat Biotech candidates.