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  • New Dengue Virus Type Detected

    First New Dengue Virus Type in 50 Years

    21 October 2013

    BANGKOK—Scientists have discovered a new type of the virus that causes a centuries-old pestilence, dengue. The surprising find, announced at a major dengue conference here today, is bound to complicate efforts to develop a vaccine against a tropical disease that is becoming a more pervasive global menace. But it could shed light on where the pathogen came from and whether it is evolving into a greater threat. The finding “may change the way we think about dengue virus evolution and emergence," says Duane Gubler, a dengue expert at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore.

    There is no vaccine or drug against dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes and causes fever and sometimes excruciating joint pain and muscle aches. Patients typically recover on their own, though severe cases need medical support. Occasionally, the illness progresses to dengue hemorrhagic fever, a potentially fatal complication in which blood leaks through vessel walls. A dengue infection confers lifetime immunity to that particular type. But subsequent infection with a second type increases the likelihood of serious illness. With that in mind, vaccine developers have strived to protect against all four types simultaneously.

    "We discovered and characterized a new dengue serotype," announced Nikos Vasilakis, a virologist at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, here today at the Third International Conference on Dengue and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever.
    So far, dengue 5 has been linked to only one outbreak in humans. Vasilakis suspects that it is circulating, possibly among macaques, in the forests of Sarawak.
    More: http://news.sciencemag.org/health/20...-type-50-years
    ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
    Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

    ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

  • #2
    Re: New Dengue Virus Type Detected

    Tuesday, 22 October 2013

    Break out the bug zapper: DEN-5 is the new dengue virus in town!


    A report from the Third International Conference on Dengue and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever describes the discovery, by researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch, of a new type of dengue virus. he virus was found during screening of samples from 2007, collected from Malaysia's northern Sarawak state.

    Dengue viruses have an ~11 kilobase, positive-sense, RNA genome enveloped in a lipid bilayer membrane (taken from the host cell upon virion exit) resulting in a 50 nanometer particle.

    Dengue viruses belong to the Family Flaviviridae, Genus Flavivirus and belong to the Species Dengue virus. The viral genome produces a single polyprotein that is cut into 10 proteins (called C, M, E, NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4a, NS4b, NS5). M and E are embedded in the viral membrane.

    New virions are assembled on the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum. Dengue virus is transmitted to non-human primates and humans via a mosquito vector (primarily of the genus Aedes) and infection can result in dengue haemorrhagic fever.

    This virus, DEN-5 (preusmably), was discovered by Dr Nikolaos Vasilakis and colleagues. It is the 5th member of the species and the first addition in 50-years. DEN-1 to DEN-4, called serotypes (because they interact differently with our immune response to them) are approximately 65% identical in sequence.

    How this latest discovery will impact on existing efforts to interrupt, treat or prevent infection and disease remain to be seen. As does a full research publication.

    Thanks to FluTrackers for their earlier post on this.
    Further Reading:
    1. http://www.nature.com/scitable/topic...ruses-22400925


    Posted by Ian M Mackay

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