Scientists find way to curb dengue virus

BEIJING: Having an iron-rich diet may be an effective way to control the dengue virus as mosquitoes are more likely to acquire the virus when feeding on iron-deficient blood, according to recent Chinese research.Researchers from Tsinghua University, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and the University of Connecticut conducted a series of screenings on blood components and found that serum iron in human blood modulates dengue virus acquisition by mosquitoes.

Virus acquisition was inversely correlated with the iron concentration in serum from human donors.