Dengue virus becoming resistant to vaccines

The mosquito-borne deadly dengue virus that infects about 400 million people globally every year – especially in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world – is undergoing changes that are helping it evade vaccines and therapeutics, according to a study.

The research, published in ‘PLOS Pathogens’, notes that one of the strains of the virus, DENV2 has smooth spherical surface particles while growing at the carrier mosquito’s physiological temperature of 290 Celsius.

According to researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch, the smooth particles transform into bumpy ones at the human physiological temperature of 370 Celsius.

This ability to morph helps the virus evade the immune system of the human host, and understanding the mechanism behind this transformation is important for therapeutics and vaccine development, the researchers mentioned.