Drought restrictions had side benefit: Lowering risk of mosquito-borne disease
Shallow pools of water on lawns are ideal breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus, the most common mosquito-borne disease in the United States.A new study by scientists from UCLA and three other universities found that reducing shallow pools of water where the insects lay their eggs is key to preventing the spread of the virus.The study, funded by a grant from the UC Office of the President and published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, found that California ’s water-use restrictions during the statewide drought from 2012 to 2016 led to a decrease in the number of mosquitoes ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - February 16, 2021 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Heat islands and lack of running water promote dengue fever in Delhi, India
(CNRS) What if more inclusive urban planning for poor populations was key to fighting dengue fever? This is what researchers from the CNRS, the Institut Pasteur and the Indian Council of Medical Research have demonstrated using a geographical approach applied to the greater city of Delhi (India). Their study is published in the journalPLOS Neglected Tropical Disease on 11 February 2021. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - February 11, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Tap water access linked to dengue risk
(PLOS) Dengue virus is among growing number of mosquito-borne viruses that have adapted to spread in urban environments and are spreading with the increasing rate of urbanization. Now, researchers reporting inPLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases February 11th have identified tap water access in densely populated neighborhoods as a strong predictor of dengue risk in the city of Delhi. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - February 11, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Dengue —an Epidemic Within a Pandemic in Peru
International Year of Volunteers: A volunteer ombudsman in Peru helps a local woman with her problem, 2001. Credit: UN PhotoBy Carmen ArroyoUNITED NATIONS, Jan 15 2021 (IPS) While the world is grappling with the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peru is still dealing with an epidemic that it has not been able to control—the mosquito-borne viral disease known as dengue.
With almost 56,400 confirmed cases as of December, Peru is suffering the worst dengue epidemic since 2017, when the virus infected over 68,000 people. The illness, coupled with the novel coronavirus crisis, has left thousands of people exposed to malnu...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - January 15, 2021 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Carmen Arroyo Tags: Development & Aid Economy & Trade Featured Food Security and Nutrition Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Labour Latin America & the Caribbean TerraViva United Nations Water & Sanitation Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition F Source Type: news
New defense against dengue and emerging mosquito-borne viruses
(University of Queensland) New treatments to cut the global death rate from dengue, Zika and West Nile viruses could result from research led by The University of Queensland. Associate Professor Daniel Watterson from UQ's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences said the team identified an antibody that improved survival rates in laboratory trials and reduced the presence of virus in the blood. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - January 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
New research reveals how one antibody blocks dangerous effects of dengue virus infection, offering a potential path to prevention
(University of Michigan) A team of researchers has discovered an antibody that blocks the ability of the dengue virus to cause disease in mice. The findings open the potential for developing effective treatments and designing a vaccine for dengue and similar diseases. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - January 7, 2021 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
A broadly protective antibody that targets the flavivirus NS1 protein
There are no approved flaviviral therapies and the development of vaccines against flaviruses has the potential of being undermined by antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). The flavivirus nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) is a promising vaccine antigen with low ADE risk but has yet to be explored as a broad-spectrum therapeutic antibody target. Here, we provide the structural basis of NS1 antibody cross-reactivity through cocrystallization of the antibody 1G5.3 with NS1 proteins from dengue and Zika viruses. The 1G5.3 antibody blocks multi-flavivirus NS1-mediated cell permeability in disease-relevant cell lines, and therapeuti...
Source: ScienceNOW - January 7, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Modhiran, N., Song, H., Liu, L., Bletchly, C., Brillault, L., Amarilla, A. A., Xu, X., Qi, J., Chai, Y., Cheung, S. T. M., Traves, R., Setoh, Y. X., Bibby, S., Scott, C. A. P., Freney, M. E., Newton, N. D., Khromykh, A. A., Chappell, K. J., Muller, D. A., Tags: Biochemistry, Microbiology reports Source Type: news
Structural basis for antibody inhibition of flavivirus NS1-triggered endothelial dysfunction
Medically important flaviviruses cause diverse disease pathologies and collectively are responsible for a major global disease burden. A contributing factor to pathogenesis is secreted flavivirus nonstructural protein 1 (NS1). Despite demonstrated protection by NS1-specific antibodies against lethal flavivirus challenge, the structural and mechanistic basis remains unknown. Here, we present three crystal structures of full-length dengue virus NS1 complexed with a flavivirus–cross-reactive, NS1-specific monoclonal antibody, 2B7, at resolutions between 2.89 and 3.96 angstroms. These structures reveal a protective mecha...
Source: ScienceNOW - January 7, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Biering, S. B., Akey, D. L., Wong, M. P., Brown, W. C., Lo, N. T. N., Puerta-Guardo, H., Tramontini Gomes de Sousa, F., Wang, C., Konwerski, J. R., Espinosa, D. A., Bockhaus, N. J., Glasner, D. R., Li, J., Blanc, S. F., Juan, E. Y., Elledge, S. J., Mina, Tags: Biochemistry, Microbiology reports Source Type: news
NIH grant funds development of novel biosensor technology for diagnosing viral infections
(University of California - Santa Cruz) For over ten years, Ali Yanik has been working to develop novel biosensor technology to provide rapid, low-cost testing for disease diagnostics and precision medicine. Now, with a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, he and his collaborators are poised to complete the development and validation of a prototype and begin testing it in the field for detection of dengue fever, yellow fever, and Zika virus infections. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - December 16, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Notes from the Field: Interpretation of Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Leptospirosis During a Dengue Outbreak - Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia, 2019
This report describes the interpretation of leptospirosis detection during a dengue outbreak in Micronesia. (Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)
Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - December 3, 2020 Category: American Health Tags: Leptospirosis MMWR Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report Source Type: news
Pandemic: When the going gets tough, innovators step up their game
Indian diagnostic companies had experience in developing test assays for dengue, HIV, TB and H1N1, but with Covid-19 the delay in getting hold of the genetic code of SARS-Cov2 meant the Indian government, in the initial months of the pandemic, had to wait on imported RT-PCR kits that were expe nsive with world- wide shortage. (Source: The Economic Times)
Source: The Economic Times - November 25, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Brit who caught Covid, malaria & dengue fever in India now fighting to recover from deadly COBRA bite
A British man who contracted malaria, dengue fever and Covid-19 while working for a charity in India is now battling to recover from a... (Source: Reuters: Health)
Source: Reuters: Health - November 23, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
How Covid-19 Social Distancing Measures Are Increasing Dengue Case Numbers
In a recent study, researchers highlighted that social distancing measures in Thailand led to an increase in the number of reported dengue cases. But, in other South-East Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia, there was no increase in the rates of reported cases. (Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News)
Source: Forbes.com Healthcare News - November 8, 2020 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Anuradha Varanasi, Contributor Tags: Healthcare /healthcare Innovation /innovation Source Type: news
Buffalo fly faces Dengue nemesis
(University of Queensland) Australian beef cattle researchers trial the use of insect-infecting bacterium Wolbachia to tackle buffalo fly, a major blood-sucking pest that costs the industry $100 million a year in treatments and lost production. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - November 3, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Mayaro virus disease - French Guiana, France
On 13 October 2020, the French health authorities officially reported 13 laboratory-confirmed cases of Mayaro fever in French Guiana, France. In September 2020, the Institut Pasteur de la Guyane (IPG) (member of the French National Reference Laboratory for arboviruses) identified two cases of Mayaro virus infection (MAYV) confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and one probable case found positive for Mayaro antibodies. The case-patients presented dengue-like symptoms and joint pains, and tested negative for dengue by RT-PCR. (Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks)
Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks - October 25, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: news Source Type: news
