Dengue Treatment & Vaccine Soon? New Antibody May Cure Virus Infection

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A new study has discovered an antibody that may prevent and treat dengue, a mosquito-borne disease.

The findings, published in the journal Science, reveal a human antibody that could prevent and neutralize the dengue virus in mice models. The human antibody known as 22D2 was found to have been able to stop the virus from fusing to the body's cell, which can cause the dengue viral infection.

"Scientists in the antibody discovery group of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center continue to make great strides in developing novel antiviral drugs, such as this human antibody that not only kills dengue virus but also prevents enhanced dengue disease," Dr. James Crow Jr. of Tennessee's Vanderbilt University said via Medical News Today.

For their research, the scientists froze human antibodies by using cryo-electron microscopy in order to observe how antibodies bind to antigens or substances that create them in the body's immune system.

As a result of their experiment, the researchers found that 2D22 could also prevent cross-reaction, meaning there is lesser chance for the patient to be infected by a second dengue serotype. According to the scientists, the findings show promise as this could lead to the development of a vaccine against the virus.

According to the International Business Times, the four dengue serotypes, known as DENV1-4, are composed of different protein antigens. Researchers from Vanderbilt University and the National University of Singapore found it challenging to develop treatment and prevention strategies, as antibodies generated by one serotype cannot be used against the other three.

Being infected by a second serotype could increase the body condition, known as antibody-dependent enhancement infection, according to Medical Xpress. It can increase the chances of developing into more severe and deadlier forms of the viral infection such as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome.

Medicine Net reports that once a person is bitten by a dengue-carrying mosquito, symptoms may start to appear after three to 15 days. The symptoms may include high fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, mild bleeding, rash, joint pain, muscle pain, and bone pain.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 400 million people who are infected with dengue fever yearly. Dengue is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes, most commonly the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can carry the four virus serotypes. The disease is rampant in tropical and subtropical areas.

IB Times adds that a Sanofi Pasteur vaccine, CYD-TDV,  has passed the first safety clinical trials done in India after twenty years of research. It holds a 95% efficacy against DHF and about 80% decreased chances of hospitalization.