Yellow Fever News and Research

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Yellow fever virus, a flavivirus, is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Illness ranges in severity from a self-limited febrile illness to severe hepatitis and hemorrhagic fever. Yellow fever disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings, laboratory testing, and the possibility of exposure to infected mosquitoes. There is no specific treatment for yellow fever; care is based on symptoms. Steps to prevent yellow fever include use of insect repellent, protective clothing, and vaccination. Yellow fever occurs in tropical regions of Africa and in parts of South America. Yellow fever is a very rare cause of illness in U.S. travelers. The last epidemic of yellow fever in North America occurred in New Orleans in 1905.

Dengue and chikungunya-carrying mosquitoes spreading to new areas, warn scientists

Scientists behind the first global distribution maps of two species of dengue and chikungunya-carrying mosquitoes warn they are spreading to new areas where they could cause disease.

1 Jul 2015

Artificial blood technology may help fight disease-transmitting mosquitoes in resource-limited areas

A "nuisance" is probably one of the nicest things people call mosquitoes. Mosquitoes have been called the deadliest animal on the planet, because of the diseases they spread.

26 Jun 2015

Pennsylvania physicians urge residents to take precautions against bug bites, bee stings

For many people, bug bites and bee stings aren't a big deal beyond a small irritation. But for some, it could mean the start of a painful - possibly long-term or even deadly - experience.

1 Jun 2015

Sex-determining gene in mosquitoes may help reduce disease transmission

Researchers with the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech have identified a gene responsible for sex determination in mosquitoes that can transmit yellow fever, dengue, and chikungunya viruses.

22 May 2015

NIH-sponsored Phase 1 clinical trial evaluates novel investigational West Nile virus vaccine

A novel investigational West Nile virus vaccine discovered and developed by scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University is being evaluated in an NIH-sponsored Phase 1, first-in-human, clinical trial at Duke University. Although several early-stage West Nile virus vaccine clinical trials have been completed to date, no human vaccine has been approved for commercial use.

7 May 2015

Purdue researchers identify new class of chemical insecticides to control mosquitoes

Purdue researchers have identified a new class of chemical insecticides that could provide a safer, more selective means of controlling mosquitoes that transmit key infectious diseases such as dengue, yellow fever and elephantiasis.

2 Apr 2015

Researchers harness gene editing technique in mosquito that infects people with deadly diseases

Traditionally, to understand how a gene functions, a scientist would breed an organism that lacks that gene - "knocking it out" - then ask how the organism has changed. Are its senses affected? Its behavior?

30 Mar 2015

Simple paper strip test can rapidly diagnose Ebola

When diagnosing a case of Ebola, time is of the essence. However, existing diagnostic tests take at least a day or two to yield results, preventing health care workers from quickly determining whether a patient needs immediate treatment and isolation.

25 Feb 2015

Climate change causes emergence of more infectious diseases

The appearance of infectious diseases in new places and new hosts, such as West Nile virus and Ebola, is a predictable result of climate change, says a noted zoologist affiliated with the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

16 Feb 2015

Research breakthrough in understanding mosquito reproductive process

Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes have contributed to the death and suffering of millions throughout human history, earning the mosquito the title as the world's most dangerous animal. Even today, several devastating mosquito-borne diseases (such as malaria, dengue fever and West Nile virus) continue to rage.

21 Jan 2015

'Spillover' of henipaviruses into humans underway, study finds

Another family of viruses, deadly in some cases, may have already jumped from fruit bats into humans in Africa, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Communications. The study provides the first, preliminary scientific evidence that "spillover" of henipaviruses into human populations is underway.

19 Nov 2014

Researchers find that yellow fever mosquitoes contain odor-detecting gene

One of the world's deadliest mosquitoes sustains its taste for human blood thanks in part to a genetic tweak that makes it more sensitive to human odor, according to new research.

13 Nov 2014

Columbia University professor recommends vaccination for people travelling abroad

Planning to travel outside the U.S. this holiday season? Check with your primary care provider or travel clinic when you book your flight.

16 Oct 2014

USAMRIID provides on-site laboratory support to current Ebola outbreak

Analysis of clinical samples from suspected Lassa fever cases in Sierra Leone showed that about two-thirds of the patients had been exposed to other emerging diseases, and nearly nine percent tested positive for Ebola virus.

16 Jul 2014

Entomologists develop chromosome map to find ways to prevent dengue fever, yellow fever

Virginia Tech entomologists have developed a chromosome map for about half of the genome of the mosquito Aedes agypti, the major carrier of dengue fever and yellow fever.

18 Jun 2014

Genomic study reveals striking contrasts that may aid disease prevention

Virginia Tech entomologists have developed a chromosome map for about half of the genome of the mosquito Aedes agypti, the major carrier of dengue fever and yellow fever.

17 Jun 2014

Terminix warns about two serious mosquito-borne diseases in Florida

Terminix, the leading provider of termite and pest control services in the United States, today warned of two serious mosquito-borne diseases which are being reported in Florida. The Florida Department of Health this week issued a report confirming 18 cases of chikungunya virus and 24 cases of dengue fever.

6 Jun 2014

New research may help scientists develop treatments or vaccines for Dengue fever

Two recent papers by a University of Colorado School of Medicine researcher and colleagues may help scientists develop treatments or vaccines for Dengue fever, West Nile virus, Yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis and other disease-causing flaviviruses.

18 Apr 2014

WHO to highlight increasing threat of vector-borne diseases on World Health Day 2014

More than half the world's population is at risk from diseases such as malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, Lyme disease, schistosomiasis, and yellow fever, carried by mosquitoes, flies, ticks, water snails and other vectors. Every year, more than one billion people are infected and more than one million die from vector-borne diseases.

2 Apr 2014

TSRI scientists receive $2.3M to study viruses that cause tropical diseases

The outbreak of dengue fever that infected some 20 people in Florida's Martin County late last year unnerved many who feared the tropical disease had once again established a foothold in Florida. The last outbreaks occurred in 2009 and 2010 in Key West—before that, the disease hadn't struck Florida in more than 70 years.

28 Mar 2014