http://www.medindia.net/healthnews/chikungunya-news.asp Medindia largest health website in india. en-us Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved. Fri, 25 May 2012 04:57:36 GMT http://www.medindia.net/news/new-portable-tool-to-detect-dengue-mosquitoes-developed-101641-1.htm Researchers have developed a new portable tool that may help doctors to detect dengue virus-carrying mosquitoes and help reduce the likelihood of human infections around the world. Every year, almost one million people, a large proportion of whom are children, require hospitalization for severe dengue. Besides, over a 100 million people being infected globally can result in mild debilitation through to the life-threatening complications of dengue hemorrhagic fever. The simple diagnostic ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/new-portable-tool-to-detect-dengue-mosquitoes-developed-101641-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/dengue-fever-a-major-cost-burden-100863-1.htm Dengue fever costs nearly (Dollor) 40 million in US territory of Puerto Rico, say sources. The study by researchers at Brandeis University's Schneider Institutes for Health Policy is the first to look at who bears the cost - across households, governments, employers and insurance companies and how much - when dengue strikes. Overall, households accounted for almost half of the costs of the disease, with government paying for 24 percent, insurance companies 22 percent, and employers seven percent....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/dengue-fever-a-major-cost-burden-100863-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/britain-at-risk-of-dengue-spread-due-to-climate-change-100659-1.htm Experts have warned that Asian tiger mosquitoes is likely to transmit tropical diseases, which includes dengue, in Britain because of climate change. The mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has already been reported in France and Belgium, the Daily Mail reported. The mosquito that can carry dengue and chikungunya viruses, both of which cause high fever, may invade parts of Britain between 2030 and 2050. Such infections usually occur in tropical regions of Africa, Asia and South America. Scientists ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/britain-at-risk-of-dengue-spread-due-to-climate-change-100659-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/dengue-epidemic-in-rio-100625-1.htm Rio de Janeiro declares dengue epidemic after diagnosing more than 50,000 cases of the mosquito-borne infection. "We have a plan focused on the epidemic and we continue to be in a state of alert," Hans Dohmann, the city's health secretary, said late Tuesday, adding that the number of cases had surpassed 300 per 100,000 residents per month. State-run Agencia Brasil meanwhile reported that 517 people had been struck with the disease last week alone. The state of Rio de Janeiro has ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/dengue-epidemic-in-rio-100625-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/achilles-heel-of-dengue-virus-identified-100008-1.htm The region in dengue virus that is neutralized in people who overcome infection with the deadly pathogen has been discovered by researchers. The results challenge the current state of dengue vaccine research, which is based on studies in mice and targets a different region of the virus. "In the past researchers have relied on mouse studies to understand how the immune system kills dengue virus and assumed that the mouse studies would apply to people as well," said senior study author Aravinda M....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/achilles-heel-of-dengue-virus-identified-100008-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/why-mosquitoes-with-dengue-are-more-trouble-nih-grantees-find-99601-1.htm Dengue virus infected mosquitoes undergo various changes in the activity of genes and related functions of their salivary glands. These changes may lead to inflated virus transmission, states a recent study led by George Dimopoulos, Ph.D., of the Malaria Research Institute and Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.Some of these changes involve the mosquito's immune system and affect its susceptibility to infection with the virus. Others involve factors that enhance the mosquito's ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/why-mosquitoes-with-dengue-are-more-trouble-nih-grantees-find-99601-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/mathematical-models-to-curb-dengue-developed-in-cuba-99256-1.htm Cuba has developed mathematical models to help fight dengue, a media report said Friday. Experts from Havana's Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute developed the models. Spearheaded by young scientist Lizet Sanchez for Cuba's national health system, the models allow health officials to analyze outbreaks in real time so they can devise the best strategy to combat the disease, according to official daily Juventud Rebelde. Sanchez has also designed a mathematical model to study the ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/mathematical-models-to-curb-dengue-developed-in-cuba-99256-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/new-route-to-fight-dengue-virus-99233-1.htm Enzymes and lipids that are targeted and modified by the dengue virus during infection have been discovered by researchers. Findings also suggest that medications used to treat high cholesterol and other lipid-related conditions might also inhibit dengue's replication and could represent a potential new therapy. The researchers have identified how infected mosquito cells undergo changes to certain lipids in membranes and in biochemical sensors that alert cells of invading viruses. "The ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/new-route-to-fight-dengue-virus-99233-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/specific-biomarker-for-chikungunya-98918-1.htm Scientists claim that delayed appearance of IgG3 antibodies (a naturally-acquired antibody) serves as a specific biomarker that increases the risk of the more severe form of Chikungunya. This discovery by A*STAR's (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) Singapore Immunology Network could aid in early and accurate prognosis of patients at risk.Scientists led by by Dr. Lisa Ng discovered that patients who respond to the disease at the onset with high levels of IgG3 are protected from the more severe form of chikungunya fever....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/specific-biomarker-for-chikungunya-98918-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/chikungunya-virus-may-infect-america-98394-1.htm Mosquito-borne chikungunya virus may infect America, warns PAHO. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said in San Salvador, capital of El Salvador in central America, that the disease causes fever and severe pains in the joints that can last for months or years, the Prensa Latina news agency reported. The group said the transmitting agents were the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. According to data from the PAHO from 2006 to 2010, there were at least 106 cases ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/chikungunya-virus-may-infect-america-98394-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/early-detection-of-dengue-fever-possible-via-protein-biomarkers-97796-1.htm The first precise predictive model to distinguish between dengue fever (DF) and its more severe form, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) has been developed by researchers. The breakthrough by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, could vastly reduce the disease's mortality rate. These studies could lead to a personalized approach to treatment of dengue fever. "We have long known that dengue has many manifestations, from asymptomatic to a flu-like state to a life-threatening condition....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/early-detection-of-dengue-fever-possible-via-protein-biomarkers-97796-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/european-union-experts-in-sri-lanka-to-conduct-a-study-on-dengue-epidemic-97691-1.htm European Union experts have arrived in Sri Lanka to study dengue epidemic, says health ministry. According to an official, the team led by J. Gubler of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore, includes specialists from Heidelberg University in Germany, Umea University in Sweden, and Boston University in the US. The specialists held discussions with the ministry on the EU-funded Dengue Disease Surveillance Project (DDSP), ministry spokesman W.M.D. Wanninayake told reporters....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/european-union-experts-in-sri-lanka-to-conduct-a-study-on-dengue-epidemic-97691-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/brazil-health-minister-warns-of-dengue-epidemic-in-rio-97605-1.htm Rio de Janeiro at high risk of major dengue epidemic, although the virus strain prevalent was not fatal, warns Brazilian Health Minister. "I believe that Rio could this year face one of the worst dengue epidemics in its history, in terms of number of cases," he said in a television interview. Padilla said the dengue virus strain prevalent in Rio was not the most serious and was not fatal. The official Agencia Brasil said since the start of the year, 3,499 dengue cases have been recorded ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/brazil-health-minister-warns-of-dengue-epidemic-in-rio-97605-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Mechanism-Behind-Dengue-Infection-Identified-95124-1.htm The mechanism behind changing dengue virus genetics and dynamics of host immunity has been discovered by University of California researchers. The virus that causes dengue disease is divided into four closely related serotypes (dengue virus 1, 2, 3 and 4), and those serotypes can be further divided into genetic variants, or subtypes. The researchers showed that a person's prior immune response to one serotype of dengue virus could influence the interaction with virus subtypes in a subsequent infection....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Mechanism-Behind-Dengue-Infection-Identified-95124-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Fever-New-Finding-94699-1.htm A part of the immune system that is involved in getting rid of dengue viruses has been identified by scientists. Worldwide, dengue fever strikes roughly 50 million people every year and takes the lives of thousands, but specific therapies or a vaccine for this mosquito-borne illness remain unavailable. Today, 2.5 billion people are at risk from dengue fever and from dengue hemorrhagic fever, a lethal complication of infection. Despite the high infection rates, there are currently no ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Fever-New-Finding-94699-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Candidate-Susceptibility-Genes-Identified-in-First-Genome-Wide-Association-Study-for-Dengue-92094-1.htm Two genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to severe dengue have been identified by Researchers in South East Asia. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, Singapore, offers clues to how the body responds to dengue infection. Dengue is globally the most common mosquito-borne infection after malaria, with an estimated 100 million infections occurring annually. Symptoms range from mild to incapacitating high fever, with potentially life-threatening complications....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Candidate-Susceptibility-Genes-Identified-in-First-Genome-Wide-Association-Study-for-Dengue-92094-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/More-Than-12000-Infected-By-Dengue-in-Pakistan-91320-1.htm Pakistan, already plagued by floods and suicide bombings, now faces a new menace from an unprecedented outbreak of deadly tropical disease dengue fever. In less than a month, 126 people have died and more than 12,000 have been diagnosed with the virus, which has spread rapidly among both rich and poor in Pakistan's cultural capital Lahore. Dengue affects between 50 and 100 million people in the tropics and subtropics each year, resulting in fever, muscle and joint ache. But it can also ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/More-Than-12000-Infected-By-Dengue-in-Pakistan-91320-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Fears-Makes-Pakistan-Shut-Schools-90663-1.htm Pakistan's most populous province shut educational institutions Wednesday in a bid to control an outbreak of dengue fever that has killed at least nine people since last month, officials said. Schools, colleges and universities across the central province of Punjab, where the disease has affected nearly 5,000 people so far, will remain closed for 10 days for fumigation. Local media said nearly two dozen people have died, including a senior government official, over the past two months. But ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Fears-Makes-Pakistan-Shut-Schools-90663-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Lahore-Dengue-Effect-90636-1.htm The Government has announced the closure of all educational institutions in Lahore for the next 10 days due to widespread dengue epidemic. The number of dengue cases is increasing rapidly on a daily basis in Punjab, The Express Tribune reports. The process of fumigation will be completed during these days to protect school children. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed the health department to send a special team to India to bring the necessary medicines ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Lahore-Dengue-Effect-90636-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Pakistans-Punjab-Province-CM-Seeks-Help-From-India-To-Tackle-Dengue-90437-1.htm Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, has directed concerned officials to negotiate for the import of dengue medicines from India to make up for the shortage of medicines there. Shahbaz directed that measures be taken on an emergent basis for meeting the shortage of medicines and equipment against dengue virus and immediate arrangements be made for their import from anywhere in the world. The Punjab Health Department submitted a proposal that said the urgently needed ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Pakistans-Punjab-Province-CM-Seeks-Help-From-India-To-Tackle-Dengue-90437-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Fever-Risk-Higher-in-Rural-Areas-Than-Cities-89879-1.htm In contrast to conventional thinking a recent study found that in dengue-endemic areas such as South-East Asia, rural areas rather than cities may bear the highest burden of dengue fever-a viral infection that causes sudden high fever, severe headache, and muscle and joint pains, and can lead to a life-threatening condition, dengue hemorrhagic fever. The study led by Wolf-Peter Schmidt from the Nagasaki Institute of Tropical Medicine, Japan, and published in this week's PLoS Medicine, the authors ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Fever-Risk-Higher-in-Rural-Areas-Than-Cities-89879-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Bacteria-To-Control-Dengue-Fever-89618-1.htm Scientists might have come up with the right bacterial answer to dengue. When a non-virulent strain of Wolbachia was introduced in mosquitoes in Australia, it seemed to work magnificently. The resulting dengue-free mosquitoes are thriving, it is reported. "The results show we can completely transform local (mosquito) populations in a few months," said Michael Turelli, a biologist at the University of California at Davis. "It's natural selection on steroids." Dengue affects between 50 and 100 million ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Bacteria-To-Control-Dengue-Fever-89618-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Chikungunya-Vaccine-May-Enter-Markets-Soon-89587-1.htm biChikungunya may soon be conquered by a new vaccine that has appeared in the medical horizon./i/b bChikungunya/b is a bviral disease/b that has been plaguing India since 2006. It is a mosquito-borne disease that is charecterized by high fever and excruciatingly painful joints.The fever usually lasts for seven to ten days while the joint pain lingers for over three months or even more. Researchers from the University of Texas, Colorado, University of Wisconsin, Centers ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Chikungunya-Vaccine-May-Enter-Markets-Soon-89587-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Ward-to-be-Opened-in-SCB-Medical-Death-Toll-Touches-17-in-Orissa-89393-1.htm Orissa government has sprung into action to grapple with the recent dengue outbreak, even as two more cases of death due to the infectious disease has been reported. With this, the death toll due to dengue has touched 17 in Orissa. According to reports, nearly 407 patients are undergoing treatment in the state. Alarmingly, nearly 21 out of the 30 districts in Orissa have reported cases of dengue. Angul district has the maximum number of dengue cases with 192 people testing positive. The Orissa High ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Ward-to-be-Opened-in-SCB-Medical-Death-Toll-Touches-17-in-Orissa-89393-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Experimental-Vaccine-Against-Chikungunya-Virus-89091-1.htm A new candidate vaccine to protect against chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne pathogen that produces an intensely painful and often chronic arthritic disease that has stricken millions of people in India, Southeast Asia and Africa has been developed by researchers. A single dose of the experimental vaccine protected lab mice from infection with the virus, according to a paper published online in the journal IPLoS Pathogens/I by researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Inviragen, Inc....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Experimental-Vaccine-Against-Chikungunya-Virus-89091-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Latest-Dengue-Bulletin-Released-by-World-Health-Organization-86578-1.htm A bulletin released by the WHO contains ten studies that document the substantial and growing burden of dengue in the Americas, Africa and Asia, and the burden of a chikungunya outbreak in India. Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figuedo's paper on dengue in Brazil confirms the country's worsening trend; from 1999-2009, where cases rose at 6.2% per year and dengue deaths at 12.0% per year. Carmen Perez and co-workers, reporting on dengue vector control in Puerto Rico, found that 83% of the costs ( (Dollor) 1.97 ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Latest-Dengue-Bulletin-Released-by-World-Health-Organization-86578-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/2015-May-See-the-Launch-of-the-Dengue-Vaccine-86239-1.htm French drugs group Sanofi said Friday that its vaccine against dengue, a mosquito-borne infection that kills thousands of people around the world each year, could be launched in about four years. "The vaccine could be available... around 2015," Jean Lang, head of vaccine development at the group's subsidiary Sanofi-Pasteur, told reporters in Bangkok. The launch date is dependent on regulatory approval in each country based on the results of trials. The vaccine is the first for dengue ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/2015-May-See-the-Launch-of-the-Dengue-Vaccine-86239-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Epidemics-can-be-Detected-With-Internet-based-Search-Data-85843-1.htm As compared to national surveillance data, web-based search data helps with quick information for early detection and monitoring of dengue outbreaks. Furthermore, it also enables public health officials in the more than 100 countries affected by dengue to respond more quickly to nascent epidemics in developing countries. Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Google.org are behind the study findings. "By using search data, we're tapping into a freely-available, instant dataset ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Epidemics-can-be-Detected-With-Internet-based-Search-Data-85843-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Boffins-Identify-New-Cell-That-Attacks-Dengue-Virus-85194-1.htm An Indian-origin researcher at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore and his colleagues have found that mast cells, which can help the body respond to bacteria and pathogens, also apparently sound the alarm around viruses delivered by a mosquito bite. "It appears the mast cells are activated and call immune system cells to the skin where they clear infection, which limits the spread of infection in the host," said lead researcher Ashley St. John, a Research Fellow with Duke-NUS in the ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Boffins-Identify-New-Cell-That-Attacks-Dengue-Virus-85194-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-and-Chikungunya-Cases-Increase-Among-UK-Citizens-Traveling-to-the-Tropics-84891-1.htm The Health Protection Agency (HPA) in Britain has warned its citizens to be more careful when traveling to tropical countries after the number of dengue fever and chikungunya cases doubled among people who visit such countries. Around 50 percent of the travelers had visited India and account for more than 21 percent of the new dengue fever cases. In total, the number of dengue fever cases among travelers shot up from 166 in 2009 to 406 in 2010. Chikungunya cases also increased by 34 percent, up from 59 in 2009 to 79 in 2010....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-and-Chikungunya-Cases-Increase-Among-UK-Citizens-Traveling-to-the-Tropics-84891-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetics-of-Chikungunya-Virus-84640-1.htm Scientists have long known that the process of "viral emergence" involves a variety of factors. Some factors in the environment and others internal caused due to mutations. Studying such mutations in different strains of the chikungunya virus has helped University of Texas Medical Branch researchers solve one of the most puzzling mysteries of chikungunya's emergence in Asia. They describe their results in an article in the online "Early Edition" section of the iProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences/i....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetics-of-Chikungunya-Virus-84640-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Wrong-Strategy-Could-Lead-to-Worse-Dengue-Epidemics-In-Future-84461-1.htm The wrong approach to wiping out the mosquitoes that cause dengue infections could lead to worse epidemics in the future, according to a study released Tuesday. Targeting only mosquito larvae, and not adults, with insecticides may work in the short run, but could result in higher resistance in the insects and less disease immunity among humans, especially in urban settings, the study found. Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection that causes severe, flu-like symptoms in some 50 million people every year, mainly in developing countries....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Wrong-Strategy-Could-Lead-to-Worse-Dengue-Epidemics-In-Future-84461-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Test-for-Dengue-83543-1.htm Symptoms of the serious viral dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever can now be diagnosed by a test which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved. The DENV Detect IgM Capture ELISA test, developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] and manufactured by Inbios Inc., of Seattle, identifies dengue antibodies in the blood. More than100 million people are infected each year all over the world, with the virus, caused by the bite of female mosquito 'Aedes Aegypti', according to the FDA....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Test-for-Dengue-83543-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Paraguayan-Clinics-to-Help-Treat-Dengue-83042-1.htm Private clinics refusing to provide treatment for dengue patients would face punishments, says Paraguayan judge. This epidemic has left 18 dead since January. "We can't leave people to die on the street. We have to respect human rights. We could be accused of failing to comply with international engagements," said Tadeo Zarratea, after ruling that private hospitals had to treat the sick. Those who do not comply will be sanctioned and could be charged for failing to help, Zarratea said....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Paraguayan-Clinics-to-Help-Treat-Dengue-83042-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/First-Dengue-Case-Reported-from-AIIMS-Campus-82592-1.htm The first dengue case has been reported from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). First-year post-graduate student of AIIMS has tested positive for dengue. Several dengue cases are reported from the campus each year with the first and last case also being reported from the institute. The institute has been unable to control the mosquito breeding inside the campus. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has asked the institute's director to take measures to control mosquito breeding....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/First-Dengue-Case-Reported-from-AIIMS-Campus-82592-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Key-to-Controlling-Dengue-Fever-Linked-to-Chemistry-of-Mosquito-Sex-82545-1.htm Understanding the sex life of a mosquito may reveal the key to controlling diseases such West Nile virus and dengue fever, a new study has said. Researchers at Cornell University have uncovered a chemical ballet that takes place between aedes aegypti mosquitoes during sex. The study found that more than 100 proteins in male sperm permanently alter a female's tendencies to feed, produce eggs and mate. The paper's lead author, Laura Sirot, a research associate at Cornell, did the work in the ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Key-to-Controlling-Dengue-Fever-Linked-to-Chemistry-of-Mosquito-Sex-82545-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Thai-Researchers-Develop-Dengue-Fever-Vaccine-81294-1.htm Researchers in Thailand say they have developed a prototype vaccine against dengue fever and will conduct further tests with the aim of bringing it to market within a decade. The vaccine against the mosquito-borne disease was jointly developed by scientists from Thailand's Chiang Mai University, Mahidol University and the government's National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. "It's the first time in Thailand that we created a prototype vaccine against dengue that has the ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Thai-Researchers-Develop-Dengue-Fever-Vaccine-81294-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Prevalence-of-Dengue-in-Urban-Areas-81240-1.htm In spite of clean water and improved sanitation , spread of water-related diseases continues in cities around the world. In a recent research work the spread dengue fever, a severe flu-like illness through the bite of mosquitoes in urban populations in many developing countries was studied. The research work is carried out by Mulligan is a PhD student at the McMaster University campus of the United Nations University's Institute on Water, Environment and Health and a recipient of Canada's ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Prevalence-of-Dengue-in-Urban-Areas-81240-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Vaccine-may-Soon-be-a-Reality-US-Researchers-81066-1.htm Researchers have revealed that promising advances have been made in the testing of possible vaccines to prevent the mosquito-borne dengue virus, which kills 25,000 people every year. "We have some very exciting leads on different types of vaccines that are in various stages of clinical trial that hopefully can be implemented with a reasonable period of time," said Anthony Fauci, director of the infectious diseases division of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Regional health researchers ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Vaccine-may-Soon-be-a-Reality-US-Researchers-81066-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Treatment-for-Chikungunya-on-the-Anvil-81015-1.htm In some welcome news, scientists have moved a step closer to developing a treatment for chikungunya, a disease spread by the Aedes mosquito. According to Straits Times, scientists from Singapore and France have discovered two antibodies that could fight against chikungunya, a disease that currently has no available vaccine or specific treatment. The two monoclonal antibodies, which were developed from single cells, could neutralize several strains of the virus in a laboratory setting, reports English....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Treatment-for-Chikungunya-on-the-Anvil-81015-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Toll-Mounts-in-Latin-America-80766-1.htm Some 31 people have died in an outbreak of dengue fever across much of Latin America since the start of the year. There is no vaccine for dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease endemic to tropical regions across the world, including Asia and Africa. Since January 1, nearly 46,600 confirmed or suspected cases have been detected in the region, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Those deaths include at least 14 in Peru's northeastern Amazon jungle region, eight in Colombia, five in Paraguay and four in Bolivia....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Toll-Mounts-in-Latin-America-80766-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Aggressive-Dengue-Strain-Hits-Peru-80626-1.htm Health authorities have declared a red alert in Peru's northern Amazon jungle region following the outbreak of an "very aggressive" dengue strain that has killed 14 people and sickened thousands. Dengue is endemic to the jungle region, but until now Peru has largely dealt with the American strain of the disease. Now authorities are facing "a new variety that we did not know in Peru and that probably entered from Brazil via the Amazon," Health Minister Oscar Ugarte told local reporters on Tuesday....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Aggressive-Dengue-Strain-Hits-Peru-80626-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Economic-Impact-of-Dengue-in-Americas-Revealed-80574-1.htm A new study from Brandeis University researchers has revealed that the economic burden of dengue illness is (Dollor) 2.1 billion per year in the Americas and exceeds the loss from other viral illnesses including human papillomavirus (HPV) and rotavirus. According to the study group's estimates, 60 percent of the economic strain caused by dengue is a result of indirect costs - primarily productivity losses affecting households, employers and government expenditures. Direct costs include ambulatory and hospital care....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Economic-Impact-of-Dengue-in-Americas-Revealed-80574-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Trap-to-Prevent-Dengue-Transmission-78604-1.htm Researchers at the Tulane University are developing an innovative trap to fight dengue fever. Experts are designing a lethal maternity ward which has the right mix of chemicals to convince the disease-carrying mosquitoes that they have found the perfect place to lay their eggs. Once the mosquitoes fly into the lethal maternity ward, there's no way getting out alive. The university will also begin a pilot study to see if the small gallon-sized traps are an effective, low-cost strategy to prevent ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Trap-to-Prevent-Dengue-Transmission-78604-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Vaccine-Tested-In-Malaysia-as-Death-Rate-Jumps-77491-1.htm As death rate jumped more than 60 percent this year Malaysian health authorities announced on Wednesday that they were testing a dengue vaccine in a bid to combat the disease. At present there is no treatment or vaccine for the mosquito-borne disease, which has killed 128 people this year in Malaysia alone, compared to 78 deaths during the same period a year ago. Malaysian health authorities said they started clinical trials involving some 300 volunteers in the middle of the year and would carry out further trials from December....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dengue-Vaccine-Tested-In-Malaysia-as-Death-Rate-Jumps-77491-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Miami-Reports-First-Dengue-Case-In-Almost-70-Years-76707-1.htm Miami health officials Friday confirmed the first locally contracted case of dengue fever in the county in more than six decades and called on residents to take measures to fight infection. "Miami-Dade county health department officials received confirmation of the first locally acquired case of dengue fever in Miami-Dade County," the agency said in a statement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said an outbreak of dengue fever in nearby Key West earlier this year was ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Miami-Reports-First-Dengue-Case-In-Almost-70-Years-76707-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/GM-Mosquitoes-The-New-Weapon-Against-Dengue-Spreaders-76637-1.htm Fight against dengue would soon become more efficient, as scientists have successfully conducted an outdoor trial of genetically modified mosquitoes to sabotage the dengue spreaders. By the end of the six-month trial, populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread the dengue virus, had plummeted, reports New Scientist. "It's a proof of principle, that it works," said Angela Harris of the Mosquito Control and Research Unit on the Caribbean island of Grand Cayman, where the trial took place....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/GM-Mosquitoes-The-New-Weapon-Against-Dengue-Spreaders-76637-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Doubling-of-Dengue-Fever-Cases-in-Last-Decade-75528-1.htm That the number of dengue fever cases has more than doubled over the past decade has been reported by the World Health Organization. Dengue is a serious flu-like illness that is transmitted by mosquitoes, and can develop into dengue haemorrhagic fever, which can be fatal. The disease is spread by the . The UN health agency has warned that dengue outbreaks are now a major threat to global public health, reports the BBC. Two fifths of the world's population are at risk of the disease, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Doubling-of-Dengue-Fever-Cases-in-Last-Decade-75528-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/WHO-Earns-Rap-From-Malaysia-Over-Dengue-Inaction-75343-1.htm Malaysia Wednesday criticised the WHO for failing to tackle the spread of dengue in the region, which saw 242,000 cases of the mosquito-borne disease in 2009 and 831 deaths so far this year. Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai, who is chairing a World Health Organisation regional conference this week, said the UN body needed to push countries to adopt a more comprehensive strategy to deal with the threat. "We want them to do a lot more. We want the WHO to do more on dengue, we think they are ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/WHO-Earns-Rap-From-Malaysia-Over-Dengue-Inaction-75343-1.htm