BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian government said on Monday it has suggested restrictions on the use of a dengue vaccine that has been suspended elsewhere after French drug company Sanofi SA said it could worsen the disease in some cases.
Brazil’s healthcare regulator Anvisa said it is now recommending that people who have never been infected with dengue not take the vaccine, which was approved for use in Brazil at the end of 2015. The Brazilian government has not suspended the drug entirely, although the Philippine government has.
Anvisa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately known many people have taken the vaccine, if it was part of any government immunization program or if any illnesses or deaths linked to the drug have been reported to the government.
A spokesman for Sanofi in Paris was not immediately available for comment.
Reporting by Anthony Boadle in Brasilia and Brad Brooks in Sao Paulo; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe
