What is it about?
The changing epidemiology of the three viruses is already creating an impact, with the spread of Dengue in 2009 in Florida, to the 2013 spread of Chikungunya through the Caribbean, and now, the Zika virus making its mark on the tropics with major concerns of it spreading to the Western Hemisphere, including the USA. Although they are all vector-borne illnesses, each carries its own clinical presentations that sometimes make it hard to diagnose. Collectively, there are no current vaccines or antiviral drugs against these three viruses, and with no sign of the spread slowing down, more geographic regions are in danger of being hit by these diseases in the near future.
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Photo by Егор Камелев on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Now more than ever, regions other than Africa and Asia, such as the USA, are being affected by the rising epidemic of vector-borne illnesses, specifically Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika viruses; this has prompted this review.
Perspectives
As the evolving world for the three viruses continues due to changes in epidemiology, there is a dire need to develop vaccines for each of the three diseases that will target a variety of mechanisms to help fight the transmission and provide succor to affected communities. Public health preventive strategies need to be employed for proper actions to be taken aimed at preventing viral transmission and ultimately, helping to fight this changing epidemiology of vector-borne diseases.
Dr Adekunle Sanyaolu
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Changing Epidemiology, Treatment, and Vaccine Update on Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika Viruses, Current Tropical Medicine Reports, May 2019, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/s40475-019-00181-2.
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