• Submitted by: admin
• Health and Medicine
• Science and Technology
• 11 / 18 / 2006

Cuba looks forwards to creating an effective vaccine for the four strains of the potentially lethal virus of Dengue, said the director of Biomedical Research at the Havana-based Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Dr. Gerardo Guillen, during the final session of the Biotechnology Convention on Thursday.

Dr. Guillen said that several possible vaccine candidates are in the pre-clinical trial phase, which if successful will be followed by a clinical trail with human patients. He noted that that the Center for Genetic Engineering, CIGB, and the Pedro Kouri Institute of Tropical Medicine have been working together in this goal since 1992. Currently, there is no vaccine for the virus which is endemic in several tropical countries, he added.

Dr. Luis Herrera Martinez, CIGB director, closed the convention by thanking the experts from more than 30 countries that participated in the event and said that he was sure that the scientific exchange that took place will open new opportunities in this important field of knowledge.

Source: ACN