Rift Valley Fever News and Research

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Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis (affects primarily domestic livestock, but can be passed to humans) causing fever. It is spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes, typically the Aedes or Culex genera.

DHODH inhibitor PTC299 shows potential as a COVID-19 therapeutic

As COVID-19 continues to take a heavy toll on human health and life in many parts of the world, there is still no effective antiviral drug or vaccine. This has fueled an intensive search for small molecules and proteins that can inhibit viral entry and replication.

10 Aug 2020

Study confirms that SARS-CoV-2 cannot be transmitted to people by mosquitoes

A new study by Kansas State University researchers is the first to confirm that SARS-CoV-2 cannot be transmitted to people by mosquitoes.

17 Jul 2020

Synthetic antibodies constructed using bacterial superglue could help fight lethal viruses

Synthetic antibodies constructed using bacterial superglue can neutralize potentially lethal viruses, according to a study published on April 21 in eLife.

28 Apr 2020

Is COVID-19 the dreaded ‘Disease X' scientists warned us about?

Back in February 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) talked about a new virus that will emerge and wreak havoc across the globe. Disease X was the term used for this new unknown pathogen that might cause a future epidemic.

23 Feb 2020

Harvard scientists uncover key mechanism that allows viruses to replicate

Viruses are masterful invaders. They cannibalize host cells by injecting their genetic material, often making thousands of copies of themselves in a single cell to ensure their replication and survival.

13 May 2019

Research provides opportunities for biological control of insect-borne pathogens

Researchers from INRA, CIRAD, CEA, the University of Montpellier, and Chicago and Vanderbilt Universities in the United States have developed an innovative method for analyzing the genome of the Wolbachia bacterium.

27 Mar 2019

Disease X: an unknown disease that could claim millions of lives

Dubbed ‘Disease X’, scientists believe a future epidemic of the influenza virus could cause millions of deaths worldwide.

25 Feb 2019

Antimicrobial resistance and foodborne diseases pay no heed to national frontiers

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to the tune of seven million euros will run for five years and will be implemented in sub-Saharan Africa.

31 Jan 2019

Mechanisms of insecticide resistance impact transmission of West Nile virus

In a context of overuse of insecticides, which leads to the selection of resistant mosquitoes, it is already known that this resistance to insecticides affects interactions between mosquitoes and the pathogens they transmit.

31 Jan 2019

New project maps impact of climate change on tropical diseases

The HEALTHY FUTURES project developed an online interactive atlas that maps and predicts the risk in eastern Africa of three deadly tropical diseases: malaria and Rift Valley fever, both transmitted by mosquitos, and schistosomiasis, which is caused by worms that emerge from freshwater snails.

7 Jun 2018

Repurposing existing antiviral drugs for multiple infections

Zika virus. Ebola virus. Influenza. SARS and MERS corona viruses. Existing and emerging viral diseases are an increasing problem, particularly in developing countries. The World Health Organization has called for better control of viral diseases, but developing drugs for this purpose can be challenging.

25 Apr 2018

Mystery 'disease X' warnings from WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned about a mysterious disease X that is caused by a virus and can cause a worldwide pandemic in the near future. WHO has come up with a list of diseases that can cause an outbreak or epidemic among the general population, mainly because of the lack of resources for fighting them.

12 Mar 2018

Scientists characterize infection mechanism of Rift Valley fever virus

Rift Valley fever virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, is responsible for outbreaks in livestock in Africa and can also be fatal in humans. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS, working with the University of Göttingen, have characterized the mechanism used by the virus to insert one of its envelope proteins into the host cell membrane, thereby enabling it to infect the cell.

9 Nov 2017

Innovate UK funds new, economic vaccine to halt spread of 'zoonotic' infectious diseases

A team of international scientists led by Dr. Michael Jarvis at the University of Plymouth has received funding in excess of £408,000 from Innovate UK to develop a new and economic vaccine designed to halt the spread of highly pathogenic 'zoonotic' (spreading from animals to humans) infectious diseases.

18 Apr 2017

Improved surveillance systems and coherent policies needed to combat Rift Valley fever

Research on the mosquito-borne Rift Valley fever in east Africa and the Arabian Peninsula shows that current surveillance systems are unable to detect the virus in livestock before it spreads to humans.

22 Nov 2016

Women infected with Rift Valley fever virus have increased risk of miscarriages

The mosquito-borne Rift Valley fever virus has been linked to miscarriage in humans. A study of 130 pregnant Sudanese women with fever showed that the risk of miscarriage was seven times greater if the woman was infected with Rift Valley fever virus.

4 Oct 2016

RVFV uses cancer pathway to hijack host cell and cause infection

Viruses can't live without us -- literally. As obligate parasites, viruses need a host cell to survive and grow. Scientists are exploiting this characteristic by developing therapeutics that close off pathways necessary for viral infection, essentially stopping pathogens in their tracks.

17 Jun 2016

New model helps predict outbreaks of zoonotic diseases

A model that predicts outbreaks of zoonotic diseases -- those originating in livestock or wildlife such as Ebola and Zika -- based on changes in climate, population growth and land use has been developed by a UCL-led team of researchers.

13 Jun 2016

Research provides pathway toward creation of first broad-spectrum antiviral drug

By studying the rare person -- about one in a million -- who can fight off viral infections more effectively than everyone else, investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a strategy to help the rest of us achieve this enhanced anti-viral state.

21 May 2016

Global climate crisis threatens public health

In a review published in the Annals of Global Health, doctors warn of the impending public health crisis brought on by climate change and call for action to help prepare the world for what is ahead.

2 Mar 2016