Americans used to feel safe from severe forms of infectious disease.  With a national immunization system and a top-notch health care, there didn't seem much to worry about, but the threat of Avian Flu changed all that.  The sudden realization that new dangerous viruses can arrive anytime has proved a sobering wake-up call.  Avian Flu, SARS, and the rising cases of West Nile Virus have brought infectious disease to the national forefront.  For La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology researchers, the search for vaccines and treatments remains a top priority.

The diseases which occupy the heart and mind of Sujan Shresta, Ph.D., kill thousands in Southeast Asia and Latin America each year.  Shresta's work with dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome has broader implications, particularly for West Nile virus, which belongs to the same virus family.

"Their genes are very similar, so my research advances knowledge of both diseases," said Shresta.

West Nile first appeared in this country in 1999 and caused 161 U.S. deaths in 2006.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), West Nile virus is spread by infected mosquitoes, and can cause serious, life-altering and even fatal disease.   About one in 150 people infected with West Nile virus will develop severe illness, with symptoms ranging from high fever and disorientation, to muscle weakness, numbness and paralysis.  Up to 20 percent of those infected will develop more moderate symptoms that will last as long as several weeks.  Symptoms usually develop between 3 to 14 days after they are bitten by the infected mosquito.  

Shresta hopes her work will one day lead to treatments or vaccines, neither of which currently exist for these viral diseases.