Bites from mosquitoes increase the severity of viral illnesses spread by the insects, according to new research published in the journal Immunity.
For the study, researchers used mouse models to examine bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito — the primary culprit in the recent outbreak of Zika in the Western Hemisphere. When a mosquito bites, the insect injects saliva into the skin, which then incites a response from the immune system. White blood cells rush to the location of the bite, but instead of combating potential infections, some of the cells become infected and begin inadvertently replicating the virus, helping the infection to spread. When researchers infected mice with Zika sans mosquito bite, the virus failed to replicate as well.
Clive McKimmie, PhD, a research fellow at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and senior author of the study, said, "We now want to look at whether medications such as anti-inflammatory creams can stop the virus establishing an infection if used quickly enough after the bite inflammation appears."
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