Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Med Entomol 2020 May 24. Epub 2020 May 24.

Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida/IFAS, Vero Beach, Florida, Vero Beach, FL.

Aedes aegypti L. is considered to have a proclivity for feeding on human blood even when other hosts are available. However, few studies have demonstrated host use by this mosquito in the continental United States, where local transmission of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses has been recently documented. Read More

Curr Pharm Des 2020 May 23. Epub 2020 May 23.

Department of Chemistry, School of Science, GITAM (Deemed to be University), Hyderabad 502329, Telangana. India.

Dengue virus (DENV) infection threatens the health and wellbeing of almost 100 million people in the world. Vectored by mosquitoes, DENV may cause severe disease in human hosts called Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)/Dengue shock syndrome (DSS), which are not preventable by any known drug. In the absence of a universally-accepted vaccine, a drug capable of inhibiting DENV multiplication is an urgent and unmet clinical need. Read More

Immunol Res 2020 May 22. Epub 2020 May 22.

Department of Chemistry & Biomolecular Science, Clarkson University, 8 Clarkson Avenue, Potsdam, NY, 13699-5820, USA.

The Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is one of the vector borne causes of encephalitis found in southeastern Asia. This positive single-stranded RNA virus is a member of the Flaviviridae family, which notably includes dengue, tick-borne, West Nile, Zika as well as yellow fever, and transmits to humans by infected mosquitos. The main site of interactions for antibodies against this virus is the envelope protein domain III (ED3). Read More

J Sport Health Sci 2020 Feb 21. Epub 2020 Feb 21.

Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-3140, USA. Electronic address:

Once thought to be a waste product of oxygen limited (anaerobic) metabolism, lactate is now known to form continuously under fully oxygenated (aerobic) conditions. Lactate shuttling between producer (driver) and consumer cells fulfills at least 3 purposes; lactate is: (1) a major energy source, (2) the major gluconeogenic precursor, and (3) a signaling molecule. The Lactate Shuttle theory is applicable to diverse fields such as sports nutrition and hydration, resuscitation from acidosis and Dengue, treatment of traumatic brain injury, maintenance of glycemia, reduction of inflammation, cardiac support in heart failure and following a myocardial infarction, and to improve cognition. Read More

Viruses 2020 May 18;12(5). Epub 2020 May 18.

School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.

The host-vector shuttle and the bottleneck in dengue transmission is a significant aspect with regard to the study of dengue outbreaks. As mosquitoes require 100-1000 times more virus to become infected than human, the transmission of dengue virus from human to mosquito is a vulnerability that can be targeted to improve disease control. In order to capture the heterogeneity in the infectiousness of an infected patient population towards the mosquito population, we calibrate a population of host-to-vector virus transmission models based on an experimentally quantified infected fraction of a mosquito population. Read More

Cell Chem Biol 2020 May 19. Epub 2020 May 19.

Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Stanford Chemistry, Engineering and Medicine for Human Health (ChEM-H), Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Electronic address:

Genome-wide analysis of the mode of action of GSK983, a potent antiviral agent, led to the identification of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase as its target along with the discovery that genetic knockdown of pyrimidine salvage sensitized cells to GSK983. Because GSK983 is an ineffective antiviral in the presence of physiological uridine concentrations, we explored combining GSK983 with pyrimidine salvage inhibitors. We synthesized and evaluated analogs of cyclopentenyl uracil (CPU), an inhibitor of uridine salvage. Read More

Arch Virol 2020 May 21. Epub 2020 May 21.

Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.

South Texas has experienced local transmission of Zika virus and of other mosquito-borne viruses such as chikungunya virus and dengue virus in the last decades. Using a mosquito surveillance program in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) and San Antonio, TX, from 2016 to 2018, we detected the presence of an insect-specific virus, cell fusing agent virus (CFAV), in the Aedes aegypti mosquito population. We tested 6,326 females and 1,249 males from the LRGV and 659 females from San Antonio for CFAV by RT-PCR using specific primers. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 May 21;10(1):8411. Epub 2020 May 21.

Department of Biotechnology and BJM School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, India.

Rapid spread of ZIKA virus (ZIKV) and its association with severe birth defects have raised worldwide concern. Recent studies have shown that ZIKV retains its infectivity and remains structurally stable at temperatures up to 40 °C, unlike dengue and other flaviviruses. In spite of recent cryo-EM structures that showed similar architecture of ZIKA and dengue virus (DENV) E protein shells, little is known that makes ZIKV so temperature insensitive. Read More

Viruses 2020 May 19;12(5). Epub 2020 May 19.

Biology Division, Spiez Laboratory, Swiss Federal Office for Civil Protection, Austrasse, CH-3700 Spiez, Switzerland.

Identification and characterization of viral genomes in vectors including ticks and mosquitoes positive for pathogens of great public health concern using metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS) has challenges. One such challenge is the ability to efficiently recover viral RNA which is typically dependent on sample processing. We evaluated the quantitative effect of six different extraction methods in recovering viral RNA in vectors using negative tick homogenates spiked with serial dilutions of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and surrogate Langat virus (LGTV). Read More

Trop Med Infect Dis 2020 May 19;5(2). Epub 2020 May 19.

Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1H 9SH, UK.

Dengue is a serious infectious disease threat in Vietnam, but its spatiotemporal and socioeconomic risk factors are not currently well understood at the province level across the country and on a multiannual scale. We explore spatial trends, clusters and outliers in dengue case counts at the province level from 2011-2015 and use this to extract spatiotemporal variables for regression analysis of the association between dengue case counts and selected spatiotemporal and socioeconomic variables from 2013-2015. Dengue in Vietnam follows anticipated spatial trends, with a potential two-year cycle of high-high clusters in some southern provinces. Read More

Int J Infect Dis 2020 May 10. Epub 2020 May 10.

Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, 420/6 Rajvithi Road, Rajthevee, Bangkok 10400, Thailand; Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Objectives: We investigated causes of fever in the primary levels of care in Southeast Asia, and evaluated whether C-reactive protein (CRP) could distinguish bacterial from viral pathogens.

Methods: Blood and nasopharyngeal swab specimens were taken from children and adults with fever (>37.5˚C) or history of fever (<14 days) in Thailand and Myanmar. Read More

ACS Med Chem Lett 2020 May 9;11(5):956-962. Epub 2020 Apr 9.

Dipartimento Farmaco Chimico Tecnologico, Università degli Studi di Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy.

In the absence of effective drugs or vaccines for the treatment of the five Dengue Virus serotypes, the search for novel antiviral drugs is of primary importance for the scientific community. In this context, drug repurposing represents the most used strategy; however, the study of host targets is now attracting attention since it allows identification of broad-spectrum drugs endowed with high genetic barrier. In the last ten years our research group identified several small molecules DDX3X inhibitors and proved their efficacy against different viruses including novel emerging ones. Read More

ACS Med Chem Lett 2020 May 19;11(5):773-782. Epub 2020 Mar 19.

Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via del Liceo, 1-06123 Perugia, Italy.

Treatment of dengue virus (DENV) and other flavivirus infections is an unmet medical need. The highly conserved flaviviral NS5 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is an attractive antiviral target that interacts with NS3 and viral RNA within the replication complex assembly. Biochemical and cell-based evidence indicate that targeting cavity B may lead to dual RdRp and NS5-NS3 interaction inhibitors. Read More

Int J Pept Res Ther 2020 6;26(2):811-821. Epub 2019 Jul 6.

2Department of Microbiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017 Japan.

Growing global viral infections have been a serious public health problem in recent years. This current situation emphasizes the importance of developing more therapeutic antiviral compounds. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and dengue virus (DENV) belong to the family and are an increasing global health threat. Read More

Trop Med Health 2020 15;48:33. Epub 2020 May 15.

1Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata, Japan.

Background: Solomon Islands, a country made up of tropical islands, has suffered cyclic dengue fever (DF) outbreaks in the past three decades. An outbreak of dengue-like illness (DLI) that occurred in April 2016 prompted this study, which aimed to determine the population's immunity status and identify the arboviruses circulating in the country.

Methods: A household survey, involving 188 participants in two urban areas (Honiara and Gizo), and a parallel hospital-based clinical survey were conducted in April 2016. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2020 May 20;13(1):264. Epub 2020 May 20.

Laboratório de Fisiologia e Controle de Artrópodes Vetores, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Av Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

Background: Roraima, the northernmost State in Brazil, borders Venezuela and Guyana. Although mostly covered by the tropical forests, the urban centers of this state are highly infested with Ae. aegypti and are endemic for dengue, Zika and chikungunya. Read More

Int J Infect Dis 2020 May 17. Epub 2020 May 17.

Grupo de Epidemiología y Evaluación en Salud pública, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia. Electronic address:

Objective: During the 2013-2016 period, Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika affected more than 1 million people in Colombia. These arboviruses and their chronic manifestations pose a public health challenge. Therefore, we estimated the burden of disease by Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika in Colombia between 2013-2016. Read More

PLoS Biol 2020 May 20;18(5):e3000697. Epub 2020 May 20.

Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America.

Developing methods for anticipating the emergence or reemergence of infectious diseases is both important and timely; however, traditional model-based approaches are stymied by uncertainty surrounding the underlying drivers. Here, we demonstrate an operational, mechanism-agnostic detection algorithm for disease (re-)emergence based on early warning signals (EWSs) derived from the theory of critical slowing down. Specifically, we used computer simulations to train a supervised learning algorithm to detect the dynamical footprints of (re-)emergence present in epidemiological data. Read More

Nucleic Acids Res 2020 May 20. Epub 2020 May 20.

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

RNA-seq experiments previously performed by our laboratories showed enrichment in intronic sequences and alterations in alternative splicing in dengue-infected human cells. The transcript of the SAT1 gene, of well-known antiviral action, displayed higher inclusion of exon 4 in infected cells, leading to an mRNA isoform that is degraded by non-sense mediated decay. SAT1 is a spermidine/spermine acetyl-transferase enzyme that decreases the reservoir of cellular polyamines, limiting viral replication. Read More

R Soc Open Sci 2020 Apr 15;7(4):191749. Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (LIAM), York University, Toronto, Canada.

Human infections with viruses of the genus , including dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV), are of increasing global importance. Owing to antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), secondary infection with one following primary infection with another can result in a significantly larger peak viral load with a much higher risk of severe disease. Although several mathematical models have been developed to quantify the virus dynamics in the primary and secondary infections of DENV, little progress has been made regarding secondary infection of DENV after a primary infection of ZIKV, or DENV-ZIKV co-infection. Read More

R Soc Open Sci 2020 Apr 22;7(4):181843. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

Mathematical Ecology Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.

Dengue is a debilitating and devastating viral infection spread by mosquito vectors, and over half the world's population currently live at risk of dengue (and other flavivirus) infections. Here, we use an integrated epidemiological and vector ecology framework to predict optimal approaches for tackling dengue. Our aim is to investigate how vector control and/or vaccination strategies can be best combined and implemented for dengue disease control on small networks, and whether these optimal strategies differ under different circumstances. Read More

Avicenna J Med Biotechnol 2020 Apr-Jun;12(2):77-84

Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.

Background: Dengue burden is increasing day-by-day globally. A rapid, sensitive, cost-effective early diagnosis kit is the need of the hour. In this study, a label-free electrochemical immunosensor was proposed for dengue virus detection. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2020 May 18. Epub 2020 May 18.

Institute for Vector-Borne Diseases, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

This study describes the natural history of dengue virus (DENV) infection in rhesus monkeys exposed to the bites of DENV-infected mosquitoes. Dengue virus-infected mosquitoes were generated by either intrathoracic inoculation or by oral feeding on viremic blood meals. Each of the six rhesus monkeys that were fed upon by intrathoracically infected mosquitoes developed NS1 antigenemia and an IgM response; viremia was detected in 4/6 individuals. Read More

Glob Public Health 2020 May 20:1-16. Epub 2020 May 20.

Department of Health, Ethics and Society, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands.

Dengue's re-emerging epidemiology poses a major global health threat. India contributes significantly to the global communicable disease burden has been declared highly dengue-endemic, exposing public health authorities to severe challenges. Our study aims to provide a deeper understanding of India's urban dengue surveillance policies as well as to explore the organisation, functioning and integration of existing disease control pillars. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020 May 20. Epub 2020 May 20.

Optical Group, São Carlos Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Sao Carlos, São Paulo, 13560-970, Brazil.

Aedes aegypti is the vector of important diseases like dengue, zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. Vector control is pivotal in combating the spread of these mosquito-borne illnesses. Photoactivable larvicide curcumin obtained from Curcuma longa Linnaeus has shown high potential for Ae. Read More

Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob 2020 May 19;19(1):19. Epub 2020 May 19.

Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas del Trópico (IIBT), Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad de Córdoba, Montería, Córdoba, Colombia.

The equine encephalitis viruses, Venezuelan (VEEV), East (EEEV) and West (WEEV), belong to the genus alphavirus, family Togaviridae and still represent a threat for human and animal public health in the Americas. In both, these infections are characterized by high viremia, rash, fever, encephalitis and death. VEEV encephalitis is similar, clinically, to other arboviral diseases, such as dengue, Zika or chikungunya. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2020 May 19:1-3. Epub 2020 May 19.

Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Vaxconsult, Doylestown, PA, USA.

A licensed vaccine against dengue was shown to enhance disease under some circumstances, even though it protected most vaccinees. We discuss the implication of these results for the future of dengue vaccines. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2020 May 15;10(5). Epub 2020 May 15.

Parasitology-Mycology Department, Avicenne Hospital, AP-HP, 93000 Bobigny, France.

Arthropod blood feeders are vectors of several human pathogenic agents, including viruses (e.g., yellow fever, chikungunya, dengue fever), parasites (e. Read More

Pathogens 2020 May 15;9(5). Epub 2020 May 15.

School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy.

Mosquitoes can transmit many infectious diseases, such as malaria, dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and lymphatic filariasis. Current mosquito control strategies are failing to reduce the severity of outbreaks that still cause high human morbidity and mortality worldwide. Great expectations have been placed on genetic control methods. Read More

Molecules 2020 May 15;25(10). Epub 2020 May 15.

Université de la Réunion, INSERM U1187, CNRS UMR 9192, IRD UMR 249, Unité Mixte Processus Infectieux en Milieu Insulaire Tropical, Plateforme Technologique CYROI, 94791 Sainte Clotilde, France.

The mosquito-borne viruses dengue (DENV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses are two medically important pathogens in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. There is an urgent need of therapeutics against DENV and ZIKV, and medicinal plants are considered as a promising source of antiviral bioactive metabolites. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of , an endemic medicinal plant from Reunion Island, to prevent DENV and ZIKV infection in human cells. Read More

Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2020 15;115:e190423. Epub 2020 May 15.

Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

BACKGROUND Despite efforts to mitigate the impact of dengue virus (DENV) epidemics, the virus remains a public health problem in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Most DENV cases in the Americas between January and July 2019 were reported in Brazil. São Paulo State in the southeast of Brazil has reported nearly half of all DENV infections in the country. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020 May 19;14(5):e0008300. Epub 2020 May 19.

State Key Laboratory of Virology, School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China.

Currently, Zika virus (ZIKV) is spreading across the world and no ZIKV infection cases have ever been reported in China. Here, we aimed to determine whether ZIKV infection exists in China. Blood samples of 273 healthy individuals were collected from Nanning City, Guangxi Province, China in March 2019. Read More

ACS Omega 2020 May 4;5(18):10433-10440. Epub 2020 May 4.

Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.

The lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) is the most successful point-of-care testing (POCT) method to date. In the case of clinical biomarkers that require quantification, it remains a challenge to quantitate those biomarkers using the lateral flow immunoassay remains a challenge due to the cost of the reader and possibly the type of marker used. In the present work, a new concept of a platform LFIA device configuration is proposed in which different, aligned membrane components, some already existing in the classical lateral flow immunoassay, and the others created with special new functions in the present device. Read More

Front Public Health 2020 30;8:174. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Infectious Diseases Research Group, School of Health, Medical & Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

Front Pediatr 2020 30;8:176. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Faculdade Israelita de Ciências da Saúde Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil.

Anti-NMDAR encephalitis is the most frequent cause of autoimmune encephalitis. Chikungunya (CHIK) is an arbovirus responsible for outbreaks of fever, cutaneous rash and arthritis in underdeveloped countries, and a trigger for autoimmunity. We report a five-year-old male patient with fever, myalgia, headache and conjunctivitis for 5 days. Read More

Insects 2020 May 14;11(5). Epub 2020 May 14.

Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.

(1) Dengue is the most spread mosquito-borne viral disease in the world, and vector control is the only available means to suppress its prevalence, since no effective treatment or vaccine has been developed. A biological control program using copepods that feed on mosquito larvae has been practiced in Vietnam and some other countries, but the application of copepods was not always successful. (2) To understand why the utility of copepods varies, we evaluated the predation efficiency of a copepod species () on a vector species () by laboratory experiments under different temperatures, nutrition and prey-density conditions. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020 May 18;14(5):e0007754. Epub 2020 May 18.

Center for Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Environmental Sciences, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.

Macroautophagy is an evolutionarily conserved cellular process critical for maintaining cellular homeostasis. It can additionally function as an innate immune response to viral infection as has been demonstrated for a number of arthropod-borne (arbo-) viruses. Arboviruses are maintained in a transmission cycle between vertebrate hosts and invertebrate vectors yet the majority of studies assessing autophagy-arbovirus interactions have been limited to the mammalian host. Read More

J Infect Dis 2020 May 18. Epub 2020 May 18.

Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2020 May 15. Epub 2020 May 15.

Department of Clinical Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

We report a young Thai man from the Thai-Myanmar border suffering from 2 days of fever and myalgia without respiratory tract signs or symptoms. He reported no history of travel through an area with confirmed COVID-19 cases or contact with sick persons. After excluding malaria and dengue, which are common causative agents of acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) in Thailand, chest radiography was performed according to the patient triage protocol of our institute for AUFI during the COVID-19 outbreak. Read More

J Med Virol 2020 May 17. Epub 2020 May 17.

Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana State, India.

Dengue virus reportedly circulates as four genetically distinct serotypes for which there is no widely accepted vaccine or drug at present. Morbidity and mortality caused by this virus are alarming for the possible increased threat to human health. A Suitable diagnostic test is the prerequisite for designing and developing control measures. Read More

Infection 2020 May 16. Epub 2020 May 16.

Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, 50134, Florence, Italy.

Purpose: To analyze epidemiology and burden of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Italy.

Methods: We used Hospital Discharge Records and number of residents in Italy to calculate number and rate of hospitalization for Chagas disease, dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, strongyloidiasis, Taenia solium taeniasis, and cysticercosis by sex, citizenship group, and region in the period 2011-2016.

Results: 7195 hospitalizations for NTDs were retrieved, accounting for 7375 diagnoses, 60% in Italians and 40% in foreigners. Read More

JNMA J Nepal Med Assoc 2020 Apr 30;58(224):272-275. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Department of Paediatric Emergency, Indiana University.

In September 2019, a dengue outbreak was observed in many non-endemic areas of Nepal. The emergency department of Patan Academy of Health Sciences also received febrile patients exceeding usual daily numbers. This surge of the patient was managed by epidemic triage and activation of surge capacity. Read More

J Virol Methods 2020 May 14:113862. Epub 2020 May 14.

Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Institut Pasteur International Network, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Electronic address:

Dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) are important viral pathogens, known to cause human infections with similar symptoms, are transmitted by common vectors and co-circulate in intertropical regions. Moreover, dengue fever results from infection with one of four different serotypes of dengue virus. Considering the recent ZIKV emergence, multiplex and up-to-date assays are more preferable for detection of both viruses in a single reaction. Read More

Acta Trop 2020 May 13:105468. Epub 2020 May 13.

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA. Electronic address:

Arboviruses transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes are a growing global concern; however, there remain large gaps in surveillance of both arboviruses and their vectors in West Africa. We reviewed over 50 years of data including outbreak reports, peer-reviewed literature, and prior data compilations describing Zika, dengue, and chikungunya, and their vectors in West Africa. Large outbreaks of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya have recently occurred in the region with over 27,000 cases of Aedes-borne disease documented since 2007. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2020 May 15;13(1):257. Epub 2020 May 15.

Centro de Investigaciones de Plagas e Insecticidas (CIPEIN-UNIDEF/CITEDEF/CONICET), J.B. de La Salle 4397, Villa Martelli (1603), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Background: Aedes aegypti (L.) is the main vector of dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya viruses. A new method for controlling this mosquito has been developed based on the possibility that wild adult mosquitoes exposed to artificial resting sites contaminated with a larvicide, can disseminate it to larval breeding sites, is named "auto-dissemination". Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2020 May 15;20(1):347. Epub 2020 May 15.

National Mosquito-Borne Diseases Control Research Center, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan.

Background: Dengue is endemic in over 100 countries and is an important public health problem worldwide. Dengue fever is not endemic in Taiwan; the importation of dengue viruses from neighboring countries via close commercial links and air travel is considered to be the cause of local outbreaks. Therefore, efforts toward disease control have focused on preventing the importation of dengue into Taiwan. Read More

Trop Med Infect Dis 2020 May 13;5(2). Epub 2020 May 13.

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences and Engineering, University of Nusa Cendana, Kupang 85361, Indonesia.

The use of vaccine and has been proposed as strategies against dengue. Research showed that the intervention is highly effective in areas with low to moderate transmission levels. On the other hand, the use of vaccine is strongly effective when it is implemented on seropositive individuals and areas with high transmission levels. Read More

J Infect 2020 May 12. Epub 2020 May 12.

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Oxford University, UK. Electronic address:

Dengue virus (DENV) is a medically important flavivirus and the aetiological agent of Dengue, a normally self-resolving febrile illness that, in some individuals, can progress into Severe Dengue (SD), a life-threatening disorder that manifests as organ impairment, bleeding and shock. Many different risk factors have been associated with the development of SD, one of which is obesity. In many countries where DENV is endemic, obesity is becoming more prevalent, therefore SD is becoming an increased public health concern. Read More

Org Biomol Chem 2020 May 15. Epub 2020 May 15.

School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, Wuhan 430030, People's Republic of China.

Ergocytochalasin A (1), an unprecedented merocytochalasan formed via Diels-Alder cycloaddition of a cytochalasin with an ergosterol, was isolated from an endophytic fungus Phoma multirostrata XJ-2-1. Compound 1 possessed a unique 5/6/14/6/5/6/6/6 fused octacyclic ring system and its structure was established by detailed NMR and HRESIMS spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Read More

J Parasitol Res 2020 29;2020:9053741. Epub 2020 Jan 29.

Essential Oil Study Center, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Semarang, 50229 Central Java, Indonesia.

This study examines the active component of (Java citronella) oil, as a green mosquito repellent, obtained through a steam distillation method. Java citronella oil, which contains citronellol, citronellal, and geraniol, was isolated by batch vacuum fractional distillation, and their effect was tested against the dengue fever (DF) vector, known as . Furthermore, air freshener gels were formulated with Java citronella oil, carrageenan, gum, sodium benzoate, ethylene glycol, polysorbate 20, sodium chloride, and distilled water, at varying concentrations. Read More