Event

The University of the West Indies will host a Professorial Inaugural Lecture presented by Professor Christine Carrington entitled "Dengue: Past, Present and Future."

The lecture will be held at Lecture Theatre 1, Block 13, Faculty of Engineering from 5:30pm. All are invited.

Abstract:

Dengue is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. Its incidence has increased 30-fold over the last 50 years, such that it is now considered one of the most important emerging diseases of the 21st century. While the causative dengue viruses have existed in the Americas for hundreds of years, outbreaks of disease were few and far between until the 1960s and 70s, when large epidemics of dengue fever swept through the region. Outbreaks with large numbers of cases with more severe, life-threatening disease manifestations made their appearance in the 1980s and since then the size, frequency and severity of outbreaks in the Americas have been increasing steadily.

Why did Dengue suddenly emerge in the Americas? Where did it come from? Why did the disease pattern change, and what can we expect in the future?

By investigating the genomes of currently circulating viruses we have been able to reconstruct the history of dengue virus populations in the Americas and to identify factors underlying their evolution, emergence, patterns of spread and mechanisms of maintenance.  The application of this type of phylogenetic approach to unravelling the histories of Dengue and other "emerging / re-emerging viruses” in our region (e.g. yellow fever, rabies), and the implications for future monitoring and control will be discussed.