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.

Canada Scholar presents research on link between cities and water-related diseases at AAAS conference

Despite clean water and improved public services, water-related diseases continues to spread in cities around the world. Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar Kate Mulligan presents her research on the connection between cities, water and health at the THINK CANADA Press Breakfast at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference Sunday.

21 Feb 2011

Poll: 73% of New Jersey people think investment on global health research is important to state's economy

Despite the unpredictable economy, nearly three-quarters of New Jersey residents think spending money on research to improve health globally is important to jobs and incomes in the state, according to a new statewide poll commissioned by Research!America.

17 Feb 2011

New fully human monoclonal antibodies to battle Chikungunya

The Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), an institute of the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and VIVALIS, a French biopharmaceutical company, announced today the discovery of two new fully human monoclonal antibodies which could battle Chikungunya, a disease that currently has no available vaccine or specific treatment.

16 Feb 2011

Dengue strikes in a “vicious” way in north Qld

According to health authorities a vicious strain of Dengue fever is hospitalising people in far north Queensland. 20 people have been diagnosed with the Type 2 variant of the virus in East Innisfail and another five have Type 4 Dengue. 12 other people are possibly ill with the virus and awaiting laboratory confirmation.

15 Feb 2011

AFP/News24 reports on uptick in dengue outbreaks in Latin America

"An outbreak of dengue fever across much of Latin America has killed 31 people since the start of the year and is showing no sign of relenting," Agence France-Presse/News 24 reports in a piece that notes the recent increase in dengue cases in the region over the past few years. Since the start of the year, "nearly 46,600 confirmed or suspected cases have been detected in the region, according to an AFP tally based on official figures," the news service reports.

15 Feb 2011

Janssen, Medivir collaborate to discover and develop drugs against dengue virus

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, announces today that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. for the discovery and development of drugs for the prophylaxis and treatment of dengue virus infection.

14 Feb 2011

Gene-transfer system may control mosquito-borne diseases without pesticides

Scientists have modeled a system that may be used to control mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit, without the use of pesticides. In the proposed system, mosquitoes are engineered to carry two genes. The first gene causes males to transmit a toxin to females through their semen. The second gene, when expressed in females, makes them immune to this toxin.

14 Feb 2011

Times of India examines dengue vaccine trials

India could soon become a site for clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of a dengue vaccine, the Times of India reports. According to the drug controller general of India, vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur recently submitted a proposal to test the vaccine to the country.

11 Feb 2011

Global Health Consortium to support development of vaccines to control dengue fever

The International Vaccine Institute today announced the launch of the Dengue Vaccine Initiative, in collaboration with the Sabin Vaccine Institute, the Johns Hopkins University, and the World Health Organization, to support development of vaccines to control dengue fever, a widespread and expanding hemorrhagic fever that is endemic in most tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

10 Feb 2011

New study shows economic burden of dengue in Western Hemisphere is $2.1 billion per year

Dengue illness, the most common mosquito-borne viral disease in the world, has expanded from its Southeast Asian origins and is resurgent in countries such as Argentina, Chile and the continental United States.

8 Feb 2011

Study finds total cost of dengue illness in Americans to be $2.1 billion per annum

The first assessment of the total cost of dengue illness in the Americas reveals the economic burden to be approximately $2.1 billion per year, exceeding that from other viral illnesses including human papillomavirus and rotavirus.

4 Feb 2011

Surge of mosquito borne disease in South Australia following wet weather

Rising water in the Murray River has caused a surge in mosquito-borne infections in South Australia. The water is rising in the Murray in SA as floodwaters move downstream from the eastern states.

2 Feb 2011

Inviragen completes memorandum of understanding with Duke-NUS

Inviragen, and the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School announced today that they have completed a memorandum of understanding to establish a partnership between the two organizations.

27 Jan 2011

Dr. Kathleen receives NSF grant to measure how climate change will impact risk of malaria, dengue fever

Thanks to a $250,000 National Science Foundation grant we may soon know how climate change will impact our risk of malaria and dengue fever. Dr. Kathleen Schreiber, professor of geography at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, received the grant from the NSF sponsored Vector-Borne Disease Project to measure how environmental temperature change influences the transmission and disease risk of the two diseases.

19 Jan 2011

Washington Post examines theories on climate change's potential impact on disease spread

The Washington Post examines the debate among scientists over the impact climate change might have on the spread of infectious diseases, and the potential for a rise in the number of tropical diseases in the U.S. The article describes how extreme weather conditions, such as flooding and drought - "thought to be linked to the warming of the oceans and to changes in the precipitation cycle" - can create ideal conditions for waterborne disease.

13 Jan 2011

Floods may become a healthcare challenge, warns the AMA

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has issued warnings to the Queensland health authorities to prepare for the rise of illnesses and injuries caused by the floods.

10 Jan 2011

Trial to eliminate deadly Dengue begins

The 12 week programme costing $18 million named ‘Eliminate Dengue’ has commenced. Mosquitoes bearing a special bacteria would be released into the wild around Cairns as part of a trial to rid the area of the insects that carry Dengue fever.

4 Jan 2011

EPA to clean up vector-breeding site to eliminate dengue epidemic

To control the severe dengue epidemic, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said the first priority is to locate diagnosed patients and eliminate virus-carrying mosquitoes, the vectors of Dengue fever, and called on all people to clean up mosquito breeding sites.

23 Dec 2010

Bacterium used to tackle Dengue fever

This January Australian scientists will start deploying a strange bacterium called Wolbachia pipientis in an attempt to halt disease transmission by mosquitoes especially Dengue fever. They are targeting the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits Dengue. Dengue is a viral disease that leads to high fever, severe muscle and joint pain and can also be fatal.

9 Dec 2010

UIC scientist focuses on potential targets to inhibit malaria transmission

University of Illinois at Chicago researcher Dr. John Quigley will describe a promising new approach to blocking malaria transmission during the American Society of Hematology's annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

6 Dec 2010