Inhibiting the spread of mosquito-transmitted viruses

Mosquito-transmitted viruses like the dengue, Zika and West Nile viruses have a major impact on global public health. Antiviral drugs are currently unavailable for these viruses, but are essential to combat the large disease burden and to prepare for the emergence of new viruses with pandemic potential. In project PANTIVIRAL, researchers from Radboudumc and the biotech company TropIQ Health Sciences will collaborate to develop new, broadly-acting antiviral drugs against flaviviruses that both reduce disease and prevent further virus spread.

Millions of people are infected each year with dengue and related mosquito-borne viruses, and their incidence is expected to further increase due to the ongoing spread of the mosquitoes that transmit these viruses. In a previous study, the researchers had discovered compounds that inhibit the dengue virus. In project PANTIVIRAL, these compounds will be further improved to increase their potency and to study the mechanisms by which they inhibit virus replication. The researchers are especially intrigued by compounds that inhibit replication in the mosquito as a novel approach to prevent virus transmission by mosquitoes.