[Advances in the development of a vaccine against dengue]

There are multiple factors responsible for the increase in the epidemics of dengue/dengue hemorrhagic fever in the tropical and subtropical regions. The characteristics of this disease, plus the absence of effective antiviral drugs; it is imperative to develop a vaccine against the dengue virus. To obtain such a vaccine, it is necessary an antigen that could bring protective immunity through life against the four dengue serotypes. Different strategies have been developed to obtain the vaccine, from the conventional one (attenuated virus), to the second and third generation of vaccines (immunisation with proteins and DNA respectively). The Envelope and the Membrane structural proteins, as well as the non structural NS1 and NS3, had been considered of major interest in the develop of the vaccine. In spite of the advances in this field, it is still much more research to be done, so it is considered that a vaccine against the dengue virus will not be available until the first decade of the next century.