THE city of Dourados in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul last week began the country's first mass vaccination against the dengue virus, Reuters has reported.
Brazil registered 1.6 million cases of dengue in 2023, an increase of 15.8% over the same period last year, according to data from the health ministry.
The number of deaths caused by the infection grew 5.4% in the period to 1,053.
The initiative aims to vaccinate around 150,000 residents of the city between the ages of four and 59 using the recently approved Japanese drugmaker Takeda's (4502.T) vaccine branded as Qdenga.
Distribution has started of the first batch of 90,000 doses already delivered by Takeda as part of an agreement with the South American city.
The vaccination schedule requires a second dose in three months.
The dengue infection, passed on by the Aedes aegypti mosquito can cause mild-to-severe disease, and death.
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