New findings from researchers have shown a way in which we can prevent infection due to mosquito viruses. TheClimate emergency relatedwith an increasingly connected world has led to an increase in potentially deadly mosquito-borne diseases for which no effective treatments currently exist. The scientists studied four types of viruses and found that applying a cream within an hour of a mosquito bite dramatically reduced infection rates in their animal models.
Use cream against mosquito virus
An immune-boosting skin cream was able to protect mice from infection by several viruses that occur through mosquito bites. Approval for human use could help reduce the spread of mosquito-borne diseasesViruses like Zikaor to prevent dengue. These infect hundreds of millions of people every year. The cream, which contains the drug imiquimod, is already approved to treat genital warts and a skin condition called actinic keratosis. However, it has not yet been tested in humans for use on mosquito bites.
The active ingredient quickly activates local immune responses in the skin. These then prevent the mosquito virus from spreading to the rest of the body. Clive McKimmie of the University of Leeds in Britain and his team injected mice at mosquito bite sites with Semliki Forest virus, a mosquito-borne virus that has caused outbreaks in Africa. In a test, seven of eleven mice whose mosquito bites the researchers treated with the skin cream survived the infection. Another 11 mice did not receive the cream and none of them survived the infection. The skin cream also limited the spread of the chikungunya virus and another called Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus in mice.
New research results
“It was a big surprise that simply applying a cream could have such a dramatic effect,” says McKimmie. Applying the skin cream protected the laboratory mice from nausea for up to five hours after the mosquito bite.
“Those really early hours and days before the mosquito virus spreads to other parts of the body are really crucial. They can have a major influence on the course of the disease and the severity of the disease. This was said by Kevin Maringer from the University of Surrey in the UK, who was not involved in the work.
The cream also limited the spread of Zika and Chikungunya viruses in the laboratorytested human skin samples. This suggests that this approach could also work in humans. Currently, the best way people can protect themselves against these viruses is to use insect repellent and nets. This study is a first step toward a drug that could prevent infection of the virus after a mosquito bite.
McKimmie says aboutthe StudyThat safety testing on humans needs to be conducted, but Maringer maintains that the antiviral cream could be approved relatively quickly since the drug is already approved for human use.
