Research
Scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) are trying various approaches to develop vaccines against dengue. Researchers in NIAID laboratories in Bethesda, Maryland, are using weakened and harmless versions of dengue viruses as potential vaccine candidates against dengue and related viruses. Other NIAID-funded investigators are trying to develop dengue virus vaccines using recombinant proteins (with or without adjuvants), viral vectors, and DNA.
Several projects are currently ongoing to identify the host and viral factors that determine the virulence and transmissibility of different dengue virus strains.
Other researchers supported by NIAID are investigating ways to treat infected individuals and to prevent dengue viruses from reproducing inside mosquitoes.
Although dengue virus has emerged as a growing global threat, scientists know little about how the virus infects cells and causes disease. New research is beginning to shed light on how the virus interacts with humans; for example, how dengue virus damages cells and how the human immune system responds to dengue virus infection.