Dengue fever is one of the most widespread tropical diseases in the world. It kills roughly 24,000 people mostly children and infects up to 100 million each year.
In the Philippines, the National Epidemiology Center reports that dengue accounted for 407 deaths and 43,938 infections in 2007, making it the worst dengue year for the country.
However dreadful, dengue may soon become preventable thanks to a vacine being developed by scientists in the pharmaceutical industry.