(AUGUST 26, 2023) A promising single-dose dengue fever vaccine created by the University of Vermont Vaccine Testing Center, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and Johns Hopkins University is undergoing a clinical trial in Bangladesh, VOA News reports.

Health authorities in Bangladesh are wrestling with a surge in dengue fever cases as monsoon rains batter the densely populated country. This year’s surge in cases has significantly strained the South Asia nation’s already fragile health care system, and hospitals are grappling with the influx of patients, many of whom are suffering severe symptoms of dengue, such as high fever, intense headache, joint and muscle pain, and in severe cases, internal bleeding.

Bangladesh’s best hope could be a cost-effective vaccine. The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, is leading the clinical trial, according to a recent article in the medical journal The Lancet.

The UVM Vaccine Testing Center is led by director Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and professor of medicine.