Dengue virus can infect immune cells meant to fight disease

Researchers at the University of Vermont's Robert Larner, M.D.

College of Medicine and Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, have discovered that dengue virus can infect and replicate inside memory B cells, immune cells traditionally understood to help protect the body from infection.

The findings, published July 20 in the Journal of Virology, reveal a previously unrecognized way the virus may evade immune defenses and point toward new strategies for treating a disease that threatens 40% of the world's population, including parts of the southern United States. ...