Antibodies discovery could lead to universal dengue vaccine

A major new class of antibodies that can make the four different types of dengue virus (DENV) non-infectious has been discovered by a group of international researchers, including from the University of Melbourne. The discovery could lead to the development of better vaccines and laboratory tests that eventually could lead to reductions in the incidence of dengue. Published in Nature Immunology, the research outlines the first reported incidence of an antibody that can neutralise all four type of the dengue virus when it is produced from human or mosquito cells. Co-author Professor Cameron Simmons from the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity said the exciting findings could pave the way for the development of vaccines that target all four strains of the dengue virus which is currently not available. “There is an urgent need to reduce incidence of people suffering dengue, and understand the human immune response to infection and the response following vaccination.” This...