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.

Female mosquitoes can detect a combination of four different substances in blood

Mosquitoes spread diseases like malaria, dengue, and yellow fever that kill at least a half a million people each year. Now researchers are learning what humans taste like to mosquitoes, down to the individual neurons that sense blood's distinctive, delectable flavor.

13 Oct 2020

A possible inverse relationship between Dengue and COVID-19 in Brazil

Their study titled, “How super-spreader cities, highways, hospital bed availability, and dengue fever influenced the COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil,” was released pre-peer review on the preprint medRxiv* early this week.

24 Sep 2020

Immunization is critical to protect current and future generations from preventable diseases

COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world that vaccines should be prioritised, writes Githinji Gitahi. Imagine a world in which everyone is at risk of contracting a contagious disease with no prevention or cure.

21 Sep 2020

New review explores the role of antibodies and T-cells towards an effective COVID vaccine

More than 100 companies have rushed into vaccine development against COVID-19 as the U.S. government pushes for a vaccine rollout at "warp speed" -- possibly by the end of the year -- but the bar set for an effective, long-lasting vaccine is far too low and may prove dangerous, according to Marc Hellerstein of the University of California, Berkeley.

11 Sep 2020

New book gives overview of viruses and how they emerge to cause pandemics

Since the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 emerged late last year, it has been virtually impossible to consume any news without encountering stories about the virus and how it spreads, potential treatments, and the development of new vaccines.

11 Sep 2020

Researchers validate novel flavivirus identification test

There are more than 70 species of flavivirus, and many cause diseases in humans and animals, including dengue, Zika and yellow fever viruses.

21 Aug 2020

Genetically engineered mosquitoes to be released in Florida Keys

Mosquitoes are known to be vectors or bearers of several viral and protozoal infections such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever, Chikungunya, and malaria. These infections are known to infect and even kill millions around the world each year. In order to tackle this vector-borne menace, researchers have genetically engineered mosquitoes that could replace the infection carrying species of the mosquitoes.

20 Aug 2020

Study suggests mutations have helped Brown Howlers to deal with yellow fever virus

At the start of her 2008 field season at El Parque El Piñalito in the Misiones province in northeastern Argentina, Ilaria Agostini knew something was terribly wrong. Agostini has studied Misiones' two howler monkey species since 2005--brown (Alouatta guariba clamitans) and black and gold (A. caraya) howlers.

13 Aug 2020

Natural compund in cedar and grapefruit skin could help repel mosquitoes and ticks says CDC

Over the last few years, there has been a rise in the number of cases of diseases caused by mosquito and tick bites. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that a natural chemical compound could help combat this problem. This compound Nootkatone is found commonly in cedar trees, and grapefruit skin says the organization.

11 Aug 2020

Potential antibody treatment for yellow fever developed in 7 months using Rapid Response Strategy

Yellow fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes, infects about 200,000 people and causes an estimated 30,000 deaths each year.

5 Aug 2020

Zika virus mutation responsible for quick spread, birth defects uncovered

A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has uncovered a Zika virus mutation that may be responsible for the explosive viral transmission in 2015/2016 and for the cause of microcephaly (babies with small heads) born to infected pregnant women.

3 Aug 2020

Research shows how Zika virus succeeds in protecting key parts of its genome

To fight viruses, cells can deploy defence enzymes that progressively destroy viral genome strands starting from one of the two strand ends. However, this degradation mechanism is not effective against epidemic viruses such as Zika.

30 Jul 2020

Study: Mosquitoes species are attracted and repelled by light at different times of day

In a new study, researchers found that night- versus day-biting species of mosquitoes are behaviorally attracted and repelled by different colors of light at different times of day.

28 Jul 2020

Racially motivated hate crimes increase in the U.S.

Under the Hate Crime Statistic Act, hate crimes are defined as "crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity."

22 Jul 2020

Benefits of routine childhood immunizations far outweigh the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission

The health benefits of maintaining routine childhood vaccination programmes in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic far outweigh the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission that might be associated with clinic visits, according to a modelling study published in The Lancet Global Health journal.

19 Jul 2020

PIM profile may help identify proteins expressed by viruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitos

The life span of the Aedes aegypti mosquito ranges from two to four weeks depending on environmental conditions, during which the female lays about one thousand eggs in water-filled containers close to human environments, because it needs human blood in order to reproduce and to complete its life cycle.

21 Jun 2020

Stanford researchers suggest a new approach for mosquito control

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, another source of deadly and increasingly frequent disease outbreaks goes largely unnoticed by much of the world.

8 Jun 2020

T cells can counteract dangerous phenomenon of mosquito-borne viruses

Every year, more than 68,000 people end up with a clinical case of Japanese encephalitis. One in four of these patients will die. The mosquito-borne virus, which is most common in Southeast Asia, also causes severe neurological damage and psychiatric disorders.

5 Jun 2020

Mosquito-borne viral outbreaks pose serious issues in West Africa

In a new study, researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus call attention to the emergence of mosquito-borne viral outbreaks in West Africa, such as dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses.

19 May 2020

Specific immune cells induced by vaccination are early indicators of vaccine efficacy

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich researchers have shown that a specific class of immune cells in the blood induced by vaccination is an earlier indicator of vaccine efficacy than conventional tests for neutralizing antibodies.

15 May 2020