Researchers at University of California, San Diego, and Vanderbilt University in the USA, claim to have identified a broad spectrum of human antibodies for dengue suppression.
Improving upon the previous designs that addressed single strains, the research marks the first engineered approach in mosquitoes that targets the four known types of dengue. And antibody ‘cargo’ was then designed to be synthetically expressed un female mosquitoes, which spread the dengue virus.
Once the female mosquito sucks in the blood, the antibody is activated. The antibody is able to hinder the replication of the virus and prevent its dissemination throughout the mosquito, which then prevents its transmission to humans.
Currently no specific treatment exists, and therefore prevention and control depend on measures that stop the spread of virus.