The dengue virus combines molecules from its RNA with mosquito saliva to foil the human immune system

The saliva of mosquitoes infected with dengue viruses contains a substance that thwarts the human immune system and makes it easier for people to become infected with the potentially deadly viruses, new research reveals.
Dengue has spread in recent years to Europe and the southern United States in addition to longstanding hotspots in tropical and subtropical areas such as Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. The new discovery, from a Mariano Garcia-Blanco, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, and his collaborators, helps explain why the disease is so easily transmitted – and could eventually lead to new ways to prevent infection. [more]