Evidence for the Inhibition of Dengue Virus Binding in the Presence of Silver Nanoparticles

Dengue is a disease caused by four closely related viruses known as dengue virus -1 through -4 (DENV1-DENV4). A fifth serotype (DENV5) was discovered from a serological sample from 2007 but is not published. Dengue fever is a disease that became prevalent in tropics during the great shipping industry expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries. The principle arthropod vectors of dengue virus, the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, determine the geographic distribution of the disease. Approximately 40% of the world's population (2.5 billion people) live in a region at risk of dengue. Dengue is typically spread throughout the tropical and subtropical latitudes, but has demonstrated the ability to spread to new areas, such as Europe, Croatia, the United States, and Portuguese islands. Based on the morbidity of dengue infection and the widespread presence of its vectors, DENV is considered the most important arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus) in the world. Vector control is the primary means of stopping an outbreak and ending the disease transmission cycle.