New Understanding of Dengue Virus Points Way to Possible Therapies for Dengue Fever NIH News ~ April 22, 2009Doctors have no specific drugs to treat dengue fever, a viral illness spread by mosquitoes that sickens 50 million to 100 million people and causes 20,000 deaths worldwide each year. Researchers have identified the cellular components in mosquitoes and in humans that dengue virus uses to multiply inside these hosts after infecting them. Scientists are hopeful that these findings could lead to the development of anti-dengue drugs.
The
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the
National Institutes of Health, funded the research, which was led by
Mariano Garcia-Blanco MD PhD, of
Duke University Medical Center. The research appears in the current issue of the journal
Nature. Click for further information on NIAID research efforts on
dengue fever.
Labels: dengue fever, dengue virus, Duke University Medical Center, Nature, NIAID, NIH
With almost 50 reported cases of Dengue Fever in St. Maarten and a few cases confirmed in
St. Kitts, it is important for everyone to take measures
now to prevent the further spread of this infectious disease!
Dengue viruses are mosquito-borne, transmitted during the mosquitos feeding process. The disease is
NOT transmitted human-to-human!
Kill the mosquitos and you kill the dengue virus!Notes for Healthcare Professionals:
Classic Dengue Fever or "break bone fever" is characterized by acute onset of high fever, 3-14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. Patients develop frontal headache, retro-orbital pain, myalgias, arthralgias, nausea, vomiting, and often a maculopapular rash. Many patients notice a change in taste sensation. Acute symptoms, when present, usually last about 1 week, but weakness, malaise, and anorexia may persist for several weeks.
A high proportion of infections produce no or minimal symptoms, especially in children. Treatment emphasizes relief of symptoms, avoiding aspirin and other non steroidal anti-inflamatory medications and encouraging oral fluid intake.
Yellow Fever can be distinguished from Dengue by the presence of jaundice.Nov 28/08 UPDATE: Dengue confirmed"The public is being asked to assist with eradication of dengue-carrying mosquitoes after blood tests sent to the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) in Barbados confirmed there are
over two dozen positive cases of dengue fever in St. Kitts/Nevis...It is further reported that notifications of clinical cases continue to be received at the Ministry’s Health Information Unit which means that the mosquito that spreads
the dengue viruses remains highly active."
Labels: Aedes Aegypti, dengue fever, DHF, disease outbreak, infectious diseases, St. Kitts
New Understanding of Dengue Virus Points Way to Possible Therapies for Dengue Fever 
