Upstate Medical to host research forum on dengue

SYRACUSE — Upstate Medical University in Syracuse will host a global health-research forum on dengue disease this Friday April 26.

Biomedical researchers from across the country will descend upon the school to discuss dengue, “a debilitating mosquito-borne viral disease that is a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics,” Upstate Medical said in a news release.

The presence of the virus has been reported in the U.S. and Western Europe, according to Upstate Medical.

The World Health Organization has estimated there are about 50 million to 100 million dengue virus infections each year, the medical school said. Often called “break-bone fever,” its symptoms include fever and severe muscle, bone, and joint pain.

It is caused by any one of four related viruses transmitted by a species of mosquitoes that serve as vectors (carriers and transmitters) for the dengue virus. These mosquitoes are found all over the world, including the U.S., Upstate Medical said.

The mosquitoes are necessary for the transmission of the dengue virus as the virus cannot be spread directly from person-to-person, according to the medical school.

“Dengue has become a global, public health concern,” Dr. Mark Polhemus, associate professor of medicine and medical director of Upstate’s Center for Global Health & Translational Science, said in the news release.

“Our forum will bring together some of the nation’s top researchers in microbiology and immunology, viral diseases, geographic medicine, weather and climate change, and vector biology,” said Polhemus. “This forum should lead to a better understanding of dengue, its reach and impact, and how we can prevent it.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com