Higher temperatures could make Dengue virus more virulent

New Delhi, August 25, 2023.

The Dengue virus could become more virulent due to increasing temperatures, according to a study that could help in predicting and mitigating the severity and virulence of the recurring tropical disease that witnesses an outbreak in the monsoon.

Researchers at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Kerala found that dengue becomes more severe and hostile in animal models when its virus (DENV) while being grown in mosquito-derived cells is exposed to higher temperatures.

The research, published recently in the FASEB journal, can help in predicting and mitigating the severity and virulence of dengue which has an estimated global disease burden of 390 million cases per year.