Dengue Fever News and Research

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Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash.

Scientists create a mosquito resistant to Type 2 dengue fever virus

Researchers have successfully created a genetically engineered mosquito that shows a high level of resistance against the most prevalent type of dengue fever virus, providing a powerful weapon against a disease that infects 50 million people each year.

9 Mar 2006

Purdue biologists visualize protein interaction that may initiate viral infection

Biologists at Purdue University have taken a "snapshot" of a Velcro-like protein on a cell's surface just after it attached to the dengue virus, a linkup thought to initiate the early stages of infection.

16 Feb 2006

Trip overseas could give you more than you bargained for!

According to a new study by U.S. researchers, that trip overseas to an exotic country may not be as trouble free as you might wish, and you could bring back more than you bargained for.

16 Jan 2006

HHS awards $56.9 million to tackle health disparities

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced the awarding of $56.9 million by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD).

10 Jan 2006

Mosquito threat to Europe from imported plants

Some experts believe that the importation of tropical plants into Europe may pose a disease risk to European countries because the plants harbour deadly mosquitos which carry the threat of exotic diseases.

21 Nov 2005

Antibody-dependent enhancement

Some viruses' ability to exploit the human body's own defenses to increase their replication may be both a blessing and curse, according to the findings of a study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

16 Oct 2005

Bats carry SARS like virus

An international consortium headed by CAS researchers has identified that the Chinese horseshoe bat is healthy carriers of a virus that is very closely related to those causing SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

10 Oct 2005

Flaviviruses immune system defenses in different ways depending on whether they are transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks

"Flaviviruses exact an enormous toll in terms of illness and death worldwide," notes NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "Because this is a relatively new field of study, everything we learn about how these viruses operate is significant.

28 Sep 2005

Dengue and other viruses may have developed tricks that let them reproduce inside macrophages

A monoclonal antibody that can effectively treat mice infected with West Nile virus has an intriguing secret: Contrary to scientists' expectations, it does not block the virus's ability to attach to host cells. Instead, the antibody somehow stops the infectious process at a later point.

28 Sep 2005

Deadly health crisis imminent in New Orleans

In New Orleans, as a result of hurricane Katrina, health specialists are predicting a vast and potentially deadly crisis for residents.

1 Sep 2005

New study strengthens the case for development of vaccine to prevent dengue fever

A new study of the disease burden of dengue fever in Malaysia strengthens the case for development of a vaccine against the mosquito-borne illness.

6 Jul 2005

Scientists aim to mislead malaria mosquitoes with odours

An international team of scientists will in the coming five years set up a research project on developing diversions to mislead malaria mosquitoes with odours.

29 Jun 2005

Grand Challenges in Global Health awards $450m to top scientists

Grants totalling U.S $450m were awarded yesterday to some of the world's most inventive scientists to enable them to turn their novel ideas into practical solutions to the 14 greatest problems plaguing human health today.

28 Jun 2005

Researchers discover quick new way that mosquitoes can pass West Nile virus to each other

The new study challenges fundamental assumptions about the virus' transmission cycle and may help explain why it spread so rapidly across North America despite experts' predictions that it would progress more slowly or even die out.

6 Jun 2005

Hong Kong looks at relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases

The relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases is being studied by the Hong Kong Government to see whether there is a major or direct link, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow says.

11 May 2005

Experimental vaccine targeting West Nile virus

A small trial testing the safety of an experimental vaccine targeting West Nile virus (WNV) opened today at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD.

19 Apr 2005

Medical Services International signs $25 mil Chinese contract

Medical Services International has announced that it has signed a $25,500,000 US contract to supply the VScan HIV test kit in the People's Republic of China.

1 Mar 2005

Low-technology approaches to mosquito control can be effective

Over 380 000 people have been protected from dengue fever in Vietnam thanks to the implementation of a novel strategy to control mosquitoes in the country, concludes a report in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

10 Feb 2005

Malaria experts to unveil top-flight research during international conference

Some of the world’s leading authorities on tropical diseases and parasitic infections will gather for an international conference at The University of Nottingham to discuss the latest breakthroughs in research and treatments.

3 Feb 2005

Biodegradable mosquito trap - latest weapon against the spread of dengue fever

University of Queensland researchers are working with a biodegradable packaging business, < Plantic>, James Cook University and Queensland Health to design and produce the traps.

18 Jan 2005