Chemokine-mediated innate immune responses to arthropod bites and their viruses

蚊子和扁虱叮咬时会将疾病传播给人类，其中包括由病毒引起的感染。大多数此类感染通常发生在热带地区，但气候变化和全球化意味着它们的传播范围已经以惊人的速度蔓延。一种特别令人担忧的病毒感染，称为基孔肯雅病，会导致流感样疾病，然后是疼痛的关节疾病。一些感染者在第一次感染后数年内无法在没有疼痛的情况下移动肢体，而且没有有效的治疗方法。它已经感染了非洲和亚洲的数百万人，更多的人处于危险之中，甚至在欧洲也是如此。重要的是，我们要了解像基孔肯雅病毒这样的病毒是如何传播和致病的，这样我们才能开发治疗方法并预测未来的疫情。因此，这个项目将首先寻求了解感染的早期阶段，看看病毒是如何通过蚊子或扁虱叮咬传播到血液中的。通过了解感染期间体内发生的事情，我们将能够更好地开发药物，赶在基孔肯雅和其他相关病毒传播影响更多人之前。

Mosquitoes and ticks can pass disease to humans when they bite, which includes infections caused by viruses. Most such infections are usually found in the tropics, but a changing climate and globalisation means their range has spread at an alarming rate. One particularly worrying virus infection, called Chikungunya, causes a flu-like illness followed by a painful joint disease. Some of those infected are unable to move their limbs without pain for years after the first infection, and there are no effective treatments available. It has already infected millions of people in Africa and Asia, and more people are at risk, even in Europe. It is important we understand how viruses like the Chikungunya virus spread and cause disease, so that we can develop treatments and predict future outbreaks. This project will therefore first seek to understand the early stages of infection, to see how the virus spreads from the mosquito or tick bite to infect the blood. Through understanding what happens in the body during the infection, we will be better able to develop medicines, before Chikungunya and other related viruses spread to affect more people.