IVI in the Media
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“It is a matter of time before dengue in Southeast Asia becomes endemic in South Korea”
An interview with Dr. In-Kyu Yoon, Director of the Dengue Vaccine Initiative and IVI’s Deputy Director General of Science was recently featured in Dong-A Ilbo, South Korea’s third largest daily newspaper and publisher of Dong-A Science, the top science magazine in the nation. In the interview he talks about the possibility of dengue spreading to South Korea. The interview, which was published in Korean, has been translated into English. Read the original interview here (Korean only): http://news.donga.com/3/all/20151124/74977500/1
"Dengue accounts for 41% of Korean nationals’ infections from overseas; there’s a need for increased awareness about the disease among Korean travelers during winter."
"I hope that Korea uses the winter vacation season as an opportunity to increase public awareness about the risk of dengue."
Dr. In-Kyu Yoon, Director of the Dengue Vaccine Initiative at the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), said in an interview with the Dong-A Ilbo, “Travel to Southeast Asia is popular in South Korea, but public awareness about the risk of dengue fever, which is considered one of the most dangerous diseases in these countries, seems to still be low here,” adding, “It is necessary that Korea proactively increases awareness about the risk of dengue fever, like MERS and Ebola, among the general public as well.”
Dengue is an infectious disease that is endemic in Southeast Asia, India and Africa, and is spread through mosquitoes. Signs and symptoms include headache, fever and muscle pain, and some 50 -100 million infections occur worldwide yearly. Approximately 1 - 2.5% of 500,000 people who are diagnosed with severe dengue die. While the number of deaths is not large relatively speaking, the morbidity of dengue is high. The World Health Organization classified dengue as one of the fastest emerging pandemic-prone viral disease in many parts of the world.
Born in Busan, South Korea, Dr. Yoon immigrated to Canada at the age of five, and studied paleobiology at Yale University. He received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. As a doctor specializing in allergy and immunology, he served as Chief of Viral Diseases at the U.S. Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, and professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences of the U.S.
Dr. Yoon started dengue research in earnest in 2003, when he witnessed dengue outbreaks during duty travel to Thailand while serving in the U.S. military.
“Previously, I had no special interest in dengue, but when I saw patients in fear and suffering at a local hospital, I felt the need to conduct research on dengue,” Dr. Yoon said. “I still have vivid memories of two or three children with dengue using a single bed due to lack of available beds in the hospital.”
Dr. Yoon said, “So far, South Korea does not have a dengue patient that has been infected domestically,” but he predicted, “Considering the discovery of the mosquito vector that is associated with carrying the dengue virus in Jeju Island, and a growing number of people infected overseas, it is a matter of time before dengue becomes endemic here.”
Dr. Yoon said, “So far, South Korea does not have a dengue patient that has been infected domestically,” but he predicted, “Considering the discovery of the mosquito vector that is associated with carrying the dengue virus in Jeju Island, and a growing number of people infected overseas, it is a matter of time before dengue becomes endemic here.”
In fact, according to the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, the disease that infected most Korean nationals overseas over the past five years was dengue. Last year alone, 41 percent (164 people) were dengue patients among the group who contracted infectious diseases abroad.
“Mosquitos that spread dengue are mostly active during daytime, and they lay eggs in clean water, displaying different patterns from other types of mosquitos,” Dr. Yoon said, “Since there are four dengue virus types, even a patient who gets infected once cannot be safe. This also makes development of a vaccine challenging.”
Medical experts predict chances are high that a dengue vaccine will be available on the market in the near future. However, many experts say the development of an affordable vaccine effective for all four virus types will take more time.