Although the fact that the dengue virus is considered a global threat for centuries now, scientists still know little about how the virus infects cells and causes diseases. New researches have begun to shed a little light to this medical mystery such as how the virus damages cells and how the immune system in turn responds to this attack. Recently, scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), have been and are still trying various methods on developing vaccines against the deadly disease. There are researches that focus on weakened versions of the dengue virus as potential vaccine candidates not only against dengue but also against other related viruses. Other projects are trying to develop vaccines using DNA, proteins, and viral vectors. Others still focus on preventing mosquitoes from transmitting the dengue virus.

Many of these projects are certainly remarkable and promising and we hope that one day we will be able to benefit from one if not all of these worthy medical pursuits.

Source: NIH