Drug treatment hope for dengue fever after research breakthrough
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Version 0 of 1. Existing drugs could be repurposed to create a world-first treatment for dengue fever, according to scientists. Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia have found the body reacts to dengue fever and bacterial infections in a similar way. Related: Sterile mosquitoes released in China to fight dengue fever They say a drug being trialled to treat sepsis – a type of blood poisoning – could be better used to combat the mosquito-borne virus. “The drug blocks leaking blood vessels and we’re very confident that it would work effectively with dengue fever,” UQ virologist Paul Young said. “The drug has already passed the first two clinical trials, so we’d be able to leapfrog the initial work.” Scientists have found a dengue fever protein acts as a toxin in the body in a similar manner to which bacterial cell wall products cause septic shock. There is currently no vaccine or drug to treat dengue fever. It usually causes a debilitating fever but can progress to the potentially fatal dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. A recent study estimated that 390m people worldwide are infected with the virus each year, resulting in around 25,000 annual deaths. Professor Young believes clinical trials could begin in one to two years. |