Breakthrough treatment for dengue

Dengue viruses are spread to people through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. — AFP

Dengue affects tens of millions each year, producing the brutal symptoms that earned it the moniker “breakbone fever,” but new research may have found the first-ever treatment for the virus.

Tests in cell cultures and mice found that a newly identified compound can effectively disarm the virus, stopping it from replicating and preventing disease, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature.