The Dynamics of the Dengue Fever Virus and the Creation of its Vaccine

The Dynamics of the Dengue Fever Virus and the Creation of its Vaccine Abstract: I investigated Dengue Fever and the dynamics of creating a drug or vaccine to cure it. After acquiring a basic knowledge of the virus I dove into various topics including variants on the virus such as Dengue Shock Syndrome and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. Then I looked into the molecular structure of the disease’s proteins and how their shape relates to how it can be treated by drugs. Professor Tantillo’s lectures about drug design, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, Toxicity) connected the concepts of protein molecular structure and effective ways to treat diseases. After researching the basic history behind Dengue Fever, I came to the conclusion that Dengue Fever is an extremely prominent disease that has no cure and will be very difficult to cure in the future due to our lack of knowledge about it. A nine-year-old boy in Campos dos Goytacazes, and urban region of Rio de Janeiro, was admitted into a hospital displaying a fever in excess of 103 degrees. He was treated for his symptoms but there was no official diagnosis [6]. A day later he was discharged from the hospital, yet returned two days later with a worsening condition and elevated levels of his previous symptoms. On the fifth day he was diagnosed with Dengue Fever Shock Syndrome (a derivative of Dengue Fever). Eventually his condition spiraled into anemia, heart murmurs, and gastritis. Dengue Fever (DF) is a known â€Å"Flavivirus† [2], which falls into the same family of viruses such as Yellow fever, Hepatitis C, West Nile Virus and about fifty other viruses [4]. DF is found in such places as Central/Sou... ...222-2225 25 July 2008 [5] Schlesinger, R. W. Dengue Viruses. Wien: Springer-Verlag, 1977. [6] SOUZA, Luiz Josà © de, CARNEIRO, Helder Gonà §alves, SOUTO FILHO, Joà £o Tadeu Damian et al. Hepatitis in Dengue Shock Syndrome. Braz J Infect Dis [online]. 2002, vol. 6, no. 6 [citado 2008-07-29], pp. 322-327. Disponà ­vel em: 86702002000600010&lng=pt&nrm=iso>. ISSN 1413-8670. doi: 10.1590/S1413- 86702002000600010 [7] Tantillo. (Lectures 23 July 2008 and 25 July 2008) [8] Whitehead, Steven S., Joseph E. Blaney, Anna P. Durbin, and Brian R. Murphy. "Prospects for a Dengue Virus Vaccine." Nature Reviews 5 (2007): 518-28. 25 July 2008 [9] Xinhua. "Thailand to test Mahidol-developed dengue vaccine prototype." People's Daily Online 05 Sept. 2005.