MOLECULAR DETERMINANTS OF DENGUE EPIDEMIC POTENTIAL

该项目解决了墨西哥登革热(DEN)新出现的问题。登革热和登革出血热已成为主要的公共卫生问题。事实上，超过20亿人面临感染登革热的风险，每年有数百万人感染，估计有10万例危及生命的登革出血热病例，而且情况还在继续恶化。不幸的是，导致登革出血热在20世纪60年代和70年代成为东南亚主要公共卫生问题的流行病学情况，现在正发生在热带的美洲和墨西哥。媒介蚊子埃及伊蚊高度流行，另一种主要媒介白纹伊蚊正在入侵该国，可能会加剧局势。多种血清型和毒株现在同时传播，不祥的是，DHF的发病率正在迅速增加，在墨西哥北部的城市正在发生登革热疫情。在这笔赠款中，我们将与墨西哥城国家理工学院、蒙特雷新莱昂自治大学和梅里达尤卡坦自治大学的同事一起调查和阐明蚊子传播和毒力的媒介和病毒遗传决定因素。这些信息将用于开发和表征对人类种群构成重大风险的媒介和病毒的生物标记物。这类信息可用来集中有限的资源和人才，以控制有可能流行的局势。定义与DEN/DHF相关的媒介和病毒基因类型将有助于最终阐明决定病毒传播、疾病和流行潜力的机制，并可能导致北美和其他地区DEN的新控制和监测战略。这些拟议的研究还将提供有关已开发的新技术和方法在当前和未来对公共卫生具有重要意义的其他媒介传播疾病的应用方面的宝贵信息。

This project addresses emerging problems with Dengue (DEN) in Mexico. DEN and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) have emerged as major public health problems. Indeed, more than 2 billion people are at risk for DEN infection, millions are infected annually with an estimated 100,000 cases of life threatening DHF, and the situation continues to deteriorate. Unfortunately, the epidemiologic circumstances that led to the emergence of DHF as a major public health problem in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s are now occuring in tropical America and Mexico. The vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti, is hyperendemic, and another major vector, Aedes albopictus, is invading the country and may exacerbate the situation. Multiple serotypes and strains of DEN are now circulating simultaneously, and ominously, the incidence of DHF is increasing rapidly and DEN epidemics are occuring in cities in Northern Mexico. In this grant, we will, with colleagues from the Instituto Politecnica Nacional in Mexico City, from the Universidad Autonoma of Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, and the Universidad Autonoma of the Yucatan in Merida, investigate and elucidate the vector and viral genetic determinants of DEN transmission and virulence. This information will be used to develop and characterize biomarkers of vectors and viruses that pose substantial risk to human populations. Such information could be used to focus limited resources and and talents for control on situations with epidemic potential. Definition of vector and virus genotypes associated with DEN/DHF will permit eventual elucidation of mechanisms that determine virus transmission, disease, and epidemic potential and may lead to novel control and surveillance strategies for DEN in North America and elsewhere. These proposed studies will also provide invaluable information concerning the application of developed new technologies and approaches to other vector borne diseases of current and future public health importance.