New Clue To Fighting Dengue Fever

[LaoPo]

New clue to fighting dengue fever

New clues into how the body fights off the tropical disease dengue fever could help in the search for a vaccine.

The research, published in Science, also explains why those who recover from the virus have much worse symptoms if they catch it again.

Dengue fever is a viral infection spread by a mosquito bite. It is a major cause of illness worldwide, and cases are on the rise.

There is currently no licensed vaccine or drug treatment.

The researchers, based in the UK and Thailand, took blood samples from infected volunteers.

They found antibodies produced in response to the virus do not do a very effective job.

Rather than neutralising the virus, they actually help it infect more cells, springing into action when a person is infected a second time by a different strain of the virus.

Key information

This phenomenon accounts for why a second bout of dengue fever can be more severe and dangerous.

DENGUE FEVER

# Dengue fever is prevalent in sub-tropical and tropical regions including South East Asia and South America

# It is a major cause of illness worldwide, causing about 100 million episodes of feverish illness a year

# Symptoms include high fever, aching in the joints and vomiting

# Complications can rarely prove fatal

# There are four major strains of the virus

It also provides new insight into how to design a vaccine for dengue fever.

The authors of the Science paper say vaccines that steer clear of a key viral protein involved in the immune response should be the most effective.

Professor Gavin Screaton, head of the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London, led the study.

He said: "Our new research gives us some key information about what is and what is not likely to work when trying to combat the dengue virus.

"We hope that our findings will bring scientists one step closer to creating an effective vaccine."

Professor Screaton said one of the major challenges was developing a vaccine for a virus that has four very different strains.

"The need for vaccines is enormous but the challenge is that in this case you need to hit four bugs all at once down a single needle," he added.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/8664296.stm

Published: 2010/05/06 23:26:40 GMT

LaoPo

[BlackArtemis]

Good, had it once already. Get a something together that whip our lazy T and B cells into shape!

[dominique355]

I was told by a Thai research scientist that the Dengue virus is actually four different viruses.

Usually one gets infected with the virus type 2 and gets the so-called "bone breaking" fever. That's not yet Dengue fever.

Once recovered from this you are likely to get the real Dengue fever when infected by one of the 3 other viruses. The body then over-reacts to the new virus and all kind of nasty things happen, such as the blood vessels start to leak blood, filling body and lungs etc.

There is high fever for 7 days and then all of a sudden the fever drops and the patient seems to recover, gets hungry and wants to go home. The day after (8th day) the fever returns.

He also said that the mosquito spreading the virus lives mostly in or near civilization an needs clean and still water to lay eggs. So you might want to check your house and garden and eliminate all water bowls like bird bath, old tires etc.

[tig28]

The Aedes mosquito is a daytime biter with peak periods of biting around sunrise and sunset. It may bite at any time of the day and is often hidden inside homes or other dwellings .... it is wise to use surface spray under desks and tables where they hide.

The dengue mosquito can be identified by the striking white bands evident on the legs.

Dengue mosquitoes breed in containers that hold water. The dengue mosquito does not breed in rivers, swamps, open drains, creeks or mangroves. These mosquitoes do not like to travel far from their breeding sites (seldom more than 100 m.). Control mosquitoes by getting rid of mosquito breeding sites around the home. If you are bitten it is extremely likely that the mosquito was born in your property -- or that of your immediate neighbors.

Dengue mosquitoes breed in containers that hold water, including:

• buckets
  
• old tyres
  
• tarpaulins and black plastic
  
• pot plant bases
  
• vases
  
• boats
  
• tin cans and plastic containers
  
• roof guttering
  
• rainwater tanks with damaged or missing screens
  
• birdbaths
  
• striking containers (to grow plant cuttings)
  
• drain sumps
  
• fallen palm fronds
  
• coconut shells.
  

Mosquito.rtf