FDA approves first vaccine against mosquito-borne virus chikungunya

 

The Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for the world's first vaccine to prevent chikungunya, an illness transmitted by mosquitoes that can cause long-lasting joint pain. The vaccine, known as Ixchiq, arrives at a time when public health experts are increasingly concerned about the spread of vector-borne diseases to new areas due to climate change, posing a greater risk to human health. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, stated that this approval addresses an important medical need and represents a significant advancement in preventing a potentially debilitating disease with limited treatment options. Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans through the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes, specifically Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Its symptoms include high fever, severe joint and muscle pain, headaches, and a rash. The World Health Organization has reported over 2 million cases worldwide since 2005, with chikungunya identified in more than 110 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Prior to 2006, the virus was rarely found in U.S. travelers, but since then, there has been an average of 28 positive cases per year. In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 81 travel-related cases. Experts in public health are concerned that the number of cases will continue to rise due to the favorable conditions for the mosquitoes that carry the virus to multiply and thrive in warmer temperatures. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, emphasizes that this vaccine is crucial for the future as chikungunya is expected to become more prevalent in the coming decades due to climate change and urbanization.