Indian scientists have developed a herbal medicine against dengue, which accounts for 50 per cent of the global population estimated to be at risk from the disease.

Experts are now gearing for the next step, which is to hold clinical trials and toxicity studies before seeking permission from the Ministry of Ayush and the Drug Controller of India (DCI) for commercial production.

The project was undertaken jointly by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and Ranbaxy Research Laboratory, and employed ayurveda in devising the drug.

About Dengue:

• Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.
• Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. This may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash.
• Recovery generally takes less than two to seven days.
• In a small proportion of cases, the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.
• As of December 2015, there is no commercially available vaccine for dengue fever. One that is partially effective is predicted to become available in Mexico, the Philippines, and Brazil in early 2016.
• The vaccine is produced by Sanofi and goes by the brand name Dengvaxia.