According to Takeda, the approval represents a major milestone in India’s fight against dengue, a disease that affects millions of people every year and continues to pose a serious public health challenge across the country.
The vaccine has been approved for individuals aged 4 to 60 years and can be administered regardless of whether a person has previously been infected with dengue. Unlike some existing dengue vaccines, QDENGA does not require pre-vaccination screening, allowing eligible individuals to receive the vaccine without undergoing prior testing for past dengue infection.
The approval comes at a time when India continues to experience one of the world’s highest dengue burdens. Dengue cases have increased sharply over the past two decades due to factors including urbanisation, climate change, changing mosquito habitats and population growth.
QDENGA is a live-attenuated tetravalent vaccine designed to provide protection against all four dengue virus serotypes, including DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4. The vaccine has already received approval in more than 40 countries, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Indonesia and Argentina.
With this approval, India has joined the group of countries using QDENGA as dengue continues to emerge as one of the country’s major seasonal public health threats. Takeda stated that QDENGA has also received World Health Organization prequalification, confirming that it meets international standards for quality, safety and effectiveness.
The World Health Organization prequalification also makes the vaccine eligible for procurement by global agencies such as UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that presents a significant global public health challenge, with prevalence reported across more than 125 countries. India accounts for nearly one-third of the global dengue burden, making the approval of QDENGA a major step in strengthening preventive healthcare measures against the disease.
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