Chikungunya; Pasteur Institute Observation

[Snowy Owl]

Nota: this is not a professionnal translation from France.

L’Institut Pasteur discover some mysteries about the chikungunya virus.

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Research

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http://www.lexpress.mu/display_news_...?news_id=82701

<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="bottom"></td></tr><tr><td align="center" width="220">Une douzaine d’&#233;quipes de l’institut s’est mobilis&#233;e pour lancer des recherches sur les diff&#233;rents aspects de l’infection.</td></tr></tbody></table>

The merging of an African disease with a mosquito of Asian origin, the Aedes albopictus has been disasterous.

Near 280 000 infected people in the Indian Ocean Islands from 2005 to 2006.

This is a new thing, the virus was until now mainly transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti, a vector of Dengue.

Does this merging helps the transmission of the ?

The researchers of Pasteur Institute, meet in Paris on march 9th in a program of maintenance and research have looked at many possibilities.

A dozen of researcher teams of Pasteur Institute are mobilised since last year to make research on the differents aspects of the infections.

Thus, Anna-Bella Failloux of the Genetic Unity of Bunyavarid&#233;s, and Marie-Christine Vazeille, of the department of Virology have worked on mosquitoes raised in an insectarium from larvae taken at the R&#233;union Island and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean.

&#171; We have mimic an infection in laboratory and from there, we were able to find the viral strain&#187;, explain Anna-Bella Failloux.

The first results have been obtained. Another team of researchers have made a study in order to better understand the origin and the evolution of the virus.

It shows first that the viral strain of the Indian Ocean are quite near between them and parented of strains from eastern, central and south Africa isolated between 1952 and 2000.

The viruses that have emerged in the islands of the Indian Ocean have been imported from the African continent.

The researchers have gone further and have found molecular signature, real genetic print of the virus.

They were not initially present in the virus, but became predominant at the beginning of September 2005 in the R&#233;union Island strain, thus preceding the epidemic outbreak.

The scientifics suggest that this would be the origin of the adaptation to the Aedes albopictus mosquito.

This had influence the multiplication of the virus among the vector mosquitoes.

Does the virus infect the muscular cells ??

Certain infected people have indeed develop myositis or myocarditis, that testify of the impact of the infection on the cells of the squelettic musles or of the cardiac musle.

Another team study the pathogenesis of the disease, that is the mecanism trough which pathogene causes provoque a disease.

They are looking into which organs the virus multiply via mice infected.

The engeneering of a vaccine is also waited for.

The Molecular Virology and Vectorology Team have developed a candidate-vaccine and the laboratory of Vaccination and Viral Genomics is developing a vaccine with a measles vector, a pediatric strain vaccine of the measles.

Many people look at the Pasteur Institute. Everybody wish that these studies will help in the medium term to develop tools to fight this disease.

Bindu BOYJOO (de Paris)

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