Scientists make breakthrough on which patients may face dengue virus complications

Researchers have made a breakthrough on why some dengue virus patients develop complications

A breakthrough has been made on why certain dengue virus patients go on to develop life-threatening complications such as vascular leakage and hemorrhaging.
Published in the online journal eLife, the study explained that researchers examined the blood serum samples of patients with dengue infection.
They found that those who went on to develop dengue hemorrhagic fever had significantly higher levels of the protein chymase, which is produced by mast cells.
Senior study author Soman Abraham, professor of pathology, immunology, and molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke Medicine, commented on the findings.
"In addition to revealing a potential new way to diagnose and treat dengue infections, these findings may have much broader applicability for other infectious diseases where vascular leakage is a major pathologic outcome," he said.
It is estimated that as many as 100 million people are infected with dengue each year, with those residing in tropical climes most vulnerable to the condition.