The inflammation from a mosquito bite helps the spread of viral infections, according to new findings.
Dr Clive McKimmie, of Leeds University, UK, and colleagues at Glasgow University, UK, investigated the effect of this inflammation using mice bitten by the Aedes aegypti species of mosquito.
The bites inject saliva into the skin, causing the immune system to send neutrophils and myeloid cells to the bite location. The team has now shown that this response actually increases the spread of the virus, as these immune cells become infected themselves. This also helps it to spread around the body, increasing the risk of severe illness, says the team.
Dr McKimmie explains: "Mosquito bites are not just annoying – they are key for how these viruses spread around your body and cause disease. We now want to look at whether medications such as anti-inflammatory creams can stop the virus establishing an infection if used quickly enough after the bite inflammation appears."
There are still very few specific therapies or vaccines for mosquito-borne viral infections. Dr McKimmie hopes his research could be the first step in repurposing commonly available anti-inflammatory drugs to treat bite inflammation before symptoms begin.
He says that if anti-inflammatory creams prove to be an effective way to stop these viruses, the approach could work against many other viruses too. "Nobody expected Zika, and before that nobody expected Chikungunya. There are estimated to be hundreds of other mosquito-borne viruses out there and it’s hard to predict what’s going to start the next outbreak."
Details of the new research were published yesterday (21 June) in Immunity.
Pingen, M. et al. Host inflammatory response to mosquito bites enhances severity of arbovirus infection. Immunity 21 June 2016
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