COVID-19 vaccine at least a year away: Three other diseases humans learned to live with without vaccines

A rapid pace of vaccine development is the need of the hour. In recent times, vaccines are our best defence against deadly novel diseases such as the COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 has affected more than 3.5 million people around the globe so far. While a vaccine would not cure the disease, it would prepare our body’s immune system to fight the incoming infection.

Scientists have been working day and night to find a treatment or vaccine for this disease which has spread like wildfire across the globe. Various clinical trials are being done by prominent institutions like Oxford and pharmaceutical giants like Sanofi and GSK. However, most experts believe that the vaccine for COVID-19 would not be available before mid-2021.

Despite the advancement in medicine and technology, scientists have not yet been able to develop a vaccine for various other diseases as well. Here are three such deadly diseases which are affecting human life severely but do not have a vaccine yet:

1. Dengue

According to the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT), dengue is an epidemic in India. The transmission of the disease occurs throughout the year in the southern part whereas, in the northern states, the disease usually spreads from April through November. Dengue is a viral disease which is transmitted by the bite of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus female mosquitoes. It has been reported that the symptoms of the disease start developing 5 to 6 days after being bitten by the mosquito. The infected person presents with symptoms like high fever, pain in the muscles, joints and bones, severe headache and rashes with red spots. There are no vaccines or treatments available for the disease. The patients are given supportive care for the symptoms.

2. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

According to the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) report of 2018, India has the third-largest HIV epidemic in the world with 2.1 million people currently living with HIV. Human Immunodeficiency Virus, commonly known as HIV, is a virus that damages the immune cells of the body making the person vulnerable to other diseases. The infection can transmit from body fluids of a person infected with HIV, which is most commonly seen during unprotected sex, through sharing a syringe or using unsterilized medical equipment. There is no vaccine available for HIV. However, the UNAIDS Data also reported that there has been a 27% decline in the rate of new infections and a 56% decline in AIDS-related deaths between 2010 and 2017.

3. Encephalitis 

Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a major public health concern in India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Between 2008 and 2014, around 44,000 cases and 6,000 deaths due to AES have been reported in the country. According to the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme of India, in the year 2018, 10,485 cases of acute encephalitis syndrome were reported in 17 states of India with a fatality rate of 6%. AES is a life-threatening infection which is mainly caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus. It mostly affects children and young adults and has symptoms like fever, mental confusion, disorientation, delirium, seizures and even coma. There is neither a vaccine nor a cure for this disease.

For more information, read our article on Don’t miss the signs of these disease in the panic around COVID-19 .

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