Researchers find that Dengue fever changes shape once it enters human body, Researchers working out of Purdue University have found that dengue fever changes shape when exposed to human body temperatures, Science Daily reported yesterday.
Dengue fever is a mosquito borne virus that is one of the leading causes of death among children in Asian and Latin American countries.
The virus infects between 50 and 100 million people a year, and about half the world's population is now at risk of infection.
Symptoms of the disease are high fever, severe headaches, muscle and joint pain, and mild bleeding. There is also a more severe form called dengue hemorrhagic fever.
The researchers discovered that, while the virus is smooth inside mosquitoes, when it is transmitted to humans, it swells and takes on a bumpy appearance.
This was unexpected, and it could explain why vaccines designed after the smooth form of the virus have so far been relatively ineffective.
Vaccines designed after the bumpy form of the virus could give antibodies a better chance to target the infection.
Viruses related to dengue fever, including West Nile and Yellow Fever, may also change their shapes when they enter the human body, but further research will be needed to bear that out.
Dengue fever is a mosquito borne virus that is one of the leading causes of death among children in Asian and Latin American countries.
The virus infects between 50 and 100 million people a year, and about half the world's population is now at risk of infection.
Symptoms of the disease are high fever, severe headaches, muscle and joint pain, and mild bleeding. There is also a more severe form called dengue hemorrhagic fever.
The researchers discovered that, while the virus is smooth inside mosquitoes, when it is transmitted to humans, it swells and takes on a bumpy appearance.
This was unexpected, and it could explain why vaccines designed after the smooth form of the virus have so far been relatively ineffective.
Vaccines designed after the bumpy form of the virus could give antibodies a better chance to target the infection.
Viruses related to dengue fever, including West Nile and Yellow Fever, may also change their shapes when they enter the human body, but further research will be needed to bear that out.
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