The information was revealed by new medical research published in the scientific journal Plos Pathogens, which showed how certain substances favor mosquito-borne infections.
Mosquitoes can be a serious health problem, not only because of the discomfort caused by their bites, but also because of the risk that some species can transmit various viral infections, including very serious ones such as dengue, chikungunya and West Nile.
New research published in the scientific journal Plos Pathogens revealed that mosquito bites can also threaten the immune defense and increase the risk of infection.
The study, led by Shih-Chia Yeh from Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore and Tania Strilets from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, USA, showed that the saliva of mosquitoes infected with the dengue virus contains a chemical messenger that prevents the response of the human immune system, thus favoring infection. This substance, produced directly by the virus and known as sfRNA (subgenomic flaviral RNA), is present at high levels in the saliva of infected mosquitoes and explains why the disease is so easily transmitted.
The transmission of the dengue virus to humans by mosquitoes – especially the Aedes aegypti species – begins by infecting the skin cells at the site of the bite. However, what is not yet clear are the factors that favor the transmission of the contents of mosquito saliva, in order to develop effective therapies or drugs.
According to the scientists involved in the new research, sfRNA in mosquito saliva can block the defense mechanisms that our body activates against infections.
The sfRNA load increases viral infection levels, setting the stage for strong infection and giving the virus an advantage in the first battle with our immunity.
About half of the world’s population is at risk of dengue: every year, nearly 400 million people are infected with this virus, which causes symptoms such as fever, nausea and skin rashes that are often mistaken for other diseases. Most people get mild forms, but about 1 in 20 develop severe forms, which can lead to circulatory collapse (dengue shock syndrome), internal bleeding and death. Dengue can be taken more than once.
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