Miami's Zika Search Turns Up Another Virus: Dengue !
(Native Developed)
dengue fever
chikungunya
Zika
" At this point , What difference does it make ? "
Of the viruses listed, I think dengue is definitely the most worrisome.
Chickungunya is a miserable disease to catch, but once you get over it, you are probably immune for life.
Zika is a fairly mild disease, although associated with a low fatality rate. I remain unconvinced of a causative relationship between Zika and microcephaly. Not that it is impossible for a virus to cause birth defects, but because the science showing a “smoking gun” just is not there.
There are five strains of dengue. One of these is newly identified and little is known about it. If someone catches any of the other four strains, they not only are miserable while sick, but the immunity they develop actually makes them *more* susceptible to serious, life-threatening consequences if they should ever get sick with a different strain. I do not know if the newly discovered fifth strain contributes to this dynamic.
The company Sanofi-Pasteur has been working on a vaccine for years. While there is a definite need for a vaccine, I think that the problem with immunity to one strain increasing the risk of death from another strain makes a vaccine technically quite challenging. Unless a vaccine can induce equal levels of immunity to all four strains at once, then vaccinating people against it can, in theory, make them more likely to die from whichever strain they did not develop adequate immunity to. And making people *more* likely to die of a disease rather defeats the whole purpose of vaccination. Until Sanofi can adequately address this concern, I think that getting the vaccine licensed is going to be a challenge.
Bigg Red, I am pinging you since I think you may find this informative. :)
Florida get stuff first... but it will be passed on...