Dr.
Bob briefly discussed the potential of mosquitoes carrying dengue fever
in the Pantanal region. For those of you who don't know too much about
dengue fever, it is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue
virus and transmitted via mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. Common symptoms
include fever, headache, muscle, join pains, and a characteristic rash.
In some cases, the disease develops into a life-threatening fever which
can result in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets, and blood plasma
leakage. Currently, there is no available vaccine, and the best
prevention is to limit exposure to mosquito bites.
However,
research in the Pantanal may be critical to better understanding the
dengue virus and limiting its negative effects. In the Pantanal of Mato
Gross, researchers at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) collected
4,400 plants and found that three plant species could inhibit the
virus's replication for the type 2 and 3 virus. The research will move
forward to use molecules found in these plants to test in animals and
test their effects.
I
thought this was particularly exciting to share because it brings up the
merits of really exciting new therapeutic possibilities and the
expansion of biopharmaceutical research by Fiocruz to help treat a
really serious tropical disease!
- Nicole
Reference: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.redetv.com.br/Noticia.aspx?118,4,570358&prev=/search?q%3Dgoogle%2Btranslate%2BPesquisadores%2Bencontram%2Bplantas%2Bno%2BPantanal%2Bque%2Bcombatem%2Bv%25C3%25ADrus%2Bda%2Bdengue%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DniB%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Dfflb%26biw%3D605%26bih%3D570
No comments:
Post a Comment