A discovery by local researchers from Duke National University of Singapore (NUS) Graduate Medical School may potentially aid the creation of an effective vaccine against dengue.
According to the research team, the dengue virus is found to sidestep the human body’s immune system and shut down the immune system response, a natural trigger of the body that produces antibodies to prevent an individual from being infected by the same virus.
The virus does this by activating a receptor, which prevents white blood cells from generating to raise the body’s immunity. The virus will then replicate easily and as a result, causing severe infection to the victim.
With this discovery, researchers hope to come up with a vaccine that will produce the right antibodies against the virus rather than replicate it entirely.
Singapore experienced its worst dengue outbreak in 2013 with 22,362 cases and seven deaths.
Also, the first death due to the virus has already been recorded this year.
Source: Channel NewsAsia
Photo: Saint Louis University Madrid Campus
