Brazil suspends dengue vaccination after two deaths

(Patria) - Brazil on Monday announced it is temporarily suspending the use of the world's first single-dose dengue vaccine after two suspected deaths, AFP reported.

More than half a million people have received doses of the vaccine this year, which was publicly developed in Brazil and approved by health authorities in November.

It is the first single-dose vaccination against the mosquito-borne dengue virus, which can cause high fever, headaches, muscle pain, nausea and rash, and in rare cases death.

Of the 501,044 people vaccinated between January and May, 3,703, or 0.7 percent, showed symptoms similar to dengue. Forty-two people have meanwhile had "more severe reactions," according to health ministry data. Authorities recorded three severe cases, including two that resulted in the deaths of a 58-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman. A 38-year-old woman was admitted to intensive care but was later discharged.

"There is not enough data to establish a causal link between the vaccine and these three serious cases, but it is a warning sign," said Health Minister Alexandre Padilha at a press conference.

As a precautionary measure, "we have decided to temporarily suspend vaccination," he added, without elaborating on what would be needed to reintroduce it.

The minister said that "absolutely unexpected" effects were not observed during testing on over 16,000 volunteers in fourteen Brazilian states.

Those trials recorded an efficacy rate of 91.6 percent against the most severe form of the disease.

The only other dengue vaccine, TAK-003, requires two doses administered three months apart, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

A single dose can help accelerate and simplify mass vaccination campaigns.

Brazil recorded more than 6,000 deaths from dengue in 2024, nearly half of the deaths recorded worldwide, but the situation improved significantly last year.