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Dengue fever could be culled by special mosquitoes

02/08/2018

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide. Severe dengue is a leading cause of death and serious illness among children in Asian and South American countries. Unfortunately, there is no definitive medical treatment for dengue fever, but hope may be on the horizon. That’s because researchers in Australia say they have managed to eradicate dengue from an entire city using captive-bred mosquitoes. The captive-bred mosquitoes have the naturally-occurring bacteria Wolbachia, which hinders dengue transmission. The bacteria are spread as the released mosquitoes mate with local mosquitoes. As a result, the city of Townsville has been dengue-free since 2014. The researchers, all of whom are from Monash University, also believe the technique could be used to stop other mosquito-borne diseases like Zika and malaria. Speaking to the Guardian, Scott O'Neill, director of the World Mosquito Program, said: "Nothing we've got is slowing these diseases down - they are getting worse." "I think we've got something here that's going to have a significant impact and I think this study is the first indication that it's looking very promising." The results of the Australian researchers’ study were published in Gates Open Research. The next step is to trial the approach in Yogyakarta in Indonesia - a city of nearly 390,000.

Zika virus could be used to treat aggressive brain cancers, say US scientists

07/09/2017

The harmful Zika virus, which is spread by mosquitoes and causes devastating brain damage in babies, could be used to treat aggressive brain cancer in adults, according to US scientists. Up until now, Zika has only been seen as a major global health threat, but the new research could see it become a remedy. The scientists say the virus can be used to selectively infect and destroy hard-to-treat cancerous cells in adult brains. In mice studies, the Zika virus was seen to successfully shrink aggressive tumours, yet left other brain cells unscathed. While human trials are still quite a way off, laboratory tests show that the virus works on human cells, and experts believe the Zika virus holds a huge amount of potential. They say it could be injected into a human brain at the same time as surgery to remove life-threatening tumours. Some brain cancers are fast growing and spread quickly through the brain. This makes it very difficult to see where the tumour finishes and healthy tissue begins. As an extra precaution, the team from Washington University School of Medicine and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have already begun modifying the Zika virus to make it less potent than the regular strain. Researcher Dr Michael Diamond said: "It looks like there's a silver lining to Zika. This virus that targets cells that are very important for brain growth in babies, we could use that now to target growing tumours."

The Zika virus detected in the sperm

07/10/2016

                  A collaborative research team from Inserm, CNRS, University III Paul Sabatier of Toulouse and the University Hospital Center of Toulouse (CHU Toulouse) reveal today the presence of the Zika virus within the sperm. This reveal is the result of a real case study realized on Julien, a young man aged 32, recently returned from the French Guiana, who arrives at the CHU Toulouse, manifesting the representative symptoms of the Zika infection. Julien has moderate fever, rash, muscle and joint pain. Two days later, the Zika virus is detected in the plasma and urine of Julien. Eleven samples of sperm, ten of blood and five of urine are then collected and analyzed over a total period of 141 days. After analysis, it appears that Zika virus is found in all the samples up to the 37th day. After that, the virus is only found in semen, where it remains until more than 130 days, while the patient is doing well. The result was confirmed on two other patients to whom the virus has persisted from 69 to 115 days in their semen.   "We have detected the presence of the Zika virus within about 3.5% of the sperm of this patient" explains Guillaume Martin-Blondel, researcher and doctor in the service of Infectious and Tropical Diseases of the University Hospital of Toulouse. The discovery has already agitated the circles acting for the prevention of sexual transmission. "These observations, added Inserm, also raise many questions about the need to include the search for Zika virus when checking sperm donations in fertility centers." They also encourage the basic rule in case of sexual intercourse: protection first.   Source: La Dépêche   

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