Basic Research
Dengue has emerged as a global health threat, while scientists still know little about how the virus infects cells and causes the disease. To answer these questions, NIAID supports a wide-range of basic research activities aimed at better understanding the biology of the dengue virus, the progression of disease in infected people, and the interactions between the virus and the immune system. New research findings are shedding light on the mechanisms of dengue infection, such as how the virus enters the cells and how the human immune system responds to dengue infection. Other NIAID projects are identifying the human and viral factors that determine and contribute to the severity and transmissibility of this disease.
Much of the basic research on dengue fever is done in labs at NIAID. Read more on Dengue Research in NIAID Labs.
Learn more about How Dengue Virus Matures and Becomes Infectious.