Dengue fever may provide immunity against coronavirus: Study Says

A study has declared that dengue fever may provide immunity against coronavirus. Miguel Nicolelis, a professor at Duke University recently made a study and has found a link between the two outbreaks. Miguel is the lead author of the research. He compared the geographical map of the past outbreak of dengue fever and the current ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The study conducted in Brazil showed the interconnection of the two viruses.

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Shocking results revealed

According to Miguel Nicolelis, the results were quite shocking. The areas with low Covid-19 cases and also with slower coronavirus cases growth were the areas that suffered intense dengue outbreaks in the past two years. Moreover, the areas with lower mortality rates due to COVID-19 were also the areas that witnessed severe dengue outbreak in 2019 and 2020. The people here had a higher level of antibodies against the dengue virus.

Similarities between the two deadly viruses

The study has revealed an immunological cross-reactivity between the Dengue’s Flavivirus and the SARS-COV-2. It has shown some similarities between the antibodies of the two deadly viruses, that have proven to give the worst outbreaks in the history of mankind.

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Possibility to create strong dengue fever vaccine

According to Professor Miguel Nicolelis, if the hypothesis is proven right then there is an immense possibility that an effective dengue virus vaccine can generate immunity against the SARS-COV-2 as well. Miguel Nicolelis, the lead author of the study revealed the astonishing news. According to him, none of the researchers in the team were expecting such results. They were not ready to believe any immunological cross-reactivity between the two viruses. It is because the two viruses are different from each other and belong to two different families. Although their symptoms, incubation period, and illness everything is different, they possess some internal similarities. After Brazil, the study was also conducted on some parts of Latin America and Asia too. The results were again the same. The areas that witnessed intense dengue outbreak have reported lower coronavirus cases than the areas that have not witnessed the dengue outbreak. This clearly shows that dengue fever may provide immunity against the coronavirus. However, we should keep protecting ourselves and keep following SOPs to protect ourselves against this deadly disease.