Mosquito-borne diseases could be prevented by skin cream
A skin cream used to treat warts and skin cancer could help protect people against viral diseases such as Zika and dengue, according to new research.
The findings have identified a new method that may prevent infection from a wide variety of dangerous viruses.
Rising global temperatures, coupled with an increasingly inter-connected world, has led to an upsurge in potentially deadly mosquito-borne illnesses for which no effective treatments currently exist.
Scientists studied four types of virus transmitted by mosquitos and found that applying a cream within an hour of a mosquito bite dramatically reduced infection rates in their models.
By boosting the immune system and not targeting a specific virus, this strategy has the potential to be a ‘silver bullet’ for a wide range of distinct mosquito-borne viral diseases
