2024-01-24 19:44:31
January 25, 2024
In the post-COVID-19 era, our understanding of infections, vaccines and antibodies has deepened. We have learned that following being infected or vaccinated, the body will produce antibodies. When exposed to pathogens once more, the antibodies will protect us from the second infection. infections with the same pathogen. However, did you know that there is an infectious disease in the world. If there are antibodies in the body, the infection will be more serious when exposed to the same pathogen once more? This is dengue fever.
Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are all high-risk areas for dengue fever, and the virus is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. My dad is often in Indonesia due to work, and he once had to be admitted to the intensive care unit due to hypotension due to dengue fever. As a microbiologist, I know that my father must have been infected with dengue fever once before, and this serious illness was caused by the second infection. There are four serotypes of dengue virus. The antibodies produced following being infected with one serotype will only be immune to that serotype. However, not only will it not be able to protect the patient once morest other serotypes, but it will also interact with the virus due to the presence of antibodies. After binding, it stimulates an imbalance in the proteins that control the immune system in the body, leading to low blood pressure, rapid decline in white blood cells, platelets, etc., and the risk of bleeding. This reaction, called antibody-dependent potentiation, is life-threatening for dengue patients who have been infected multiple times with different serotypes.
In 2016, the Philippines began vaccinating school children once morest dengue fever. It was later discovered that children who were infected with dengue fever for the first time following receiving the vaccine were more seriously ill than those who were not vaccinated. As a result, the Philippines’ dengue vaccine program was immediately terminated.
The existing dengue fever vaccine is aimed at children aged 9 to 16 who live in countries with high dengue fever infection rates. However, when vaccinated, they must have a clear record of having been infected with dengue fever, or blood tests show that they have antibodies before it is suitable for use.
The author is a specialist in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases
[信健康] Instructions for getting vaccinated once morest dengue fever, please pay attention to the doctor’s information
