Clinical tests being carried out on dengue vaccines

Clinical tests on several types of dengue vaccines are being carried out by the private sector to test their effectiveness, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya.

He said that in the efforts to produce dengue vaccines, the Health Ministry through the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) was carrying out research on the development of the vaccine.

"Currently, the research is still at the initial stage of the vaccine development," he said at the question-and-answer session at the Senate, here today.

He was replying to a question from Senator Datuk Noriah Mahat who wanted to know whether the government intended to produce the vaccine as the dengue outbreak was becoming more serious and complex to handle.