Dengue fever vaccine delivered with nanotechnology targets all four virus serotypes

The latest in a series of studies led by the Aravinda de Silva Lab at the UNC School of Medicine shows continued promise in a dengue virus vaccine delivered using nanoparticle technology. Each year, an estimated 25,000 people die from dengue infections and millions more are infected. Scientists have been trying to create a dengue vaccine for many years, but creating an effective vaccine is challenging due to the four different serotypes of the virus. For a person to be fully protected against dengue, they need to be vaccinated against all four serotypes at once – something current vaccines do not achieve. In their paper published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Aravinda de Silva, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology, and UNC research associate Stefan Metz, Ph.D., detail how their nanoparticle delivery platform is producing a more balanced immune response versus other vaccine delivery platforms. To deliver the vaccine, the de Silva...