Understanding the role of regulatory T cells and anti-dengue antibodies in a cohort of Cambodian acute dengue-infected children

Abstract

The earliest known clinical descriptions of a dengue virus (DENV)-like illness were written in Chinese literature during the Chin Dynasty [Common Era (CE) 265-420], Tang Dynasty (CE 610), and Northern Sung Dynasty (CE 992) and were referred to as "water poisoning" because they were linked to a disease-causing flying insect in the water (1). Interestingly, major epidemics of a disease suspected to be dengue were first reported in three continents (Asia, Africa, and North America) in 1779 and 1780 (2). Due to deforestation and development of human settlements, dengue viruses migrated out of the jungle into the rural environment, where they were, and still are, transmitted to humans by peridomestic mosquitoes such as Aedes Aegypti and Aedes albopictus. In the aftermath of World War II, rapid urbanization and economic development led to the increased transmission of mosquito-borne diseases and an intensified spread of dengue worldwide. The first known outbreak of severe dengue happened in Manila in 1953–1954, but within 20 years the illness had spread all over Southeast Asia (2, 3). In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated at more than 8-fold rise in the number of dengue cases over the last 20 years (4). Currently, it is estimated that half of the world population live in areas at risk of dengue infection and that dengue virus causes 400 million infections each year. About 25% of these infections develop into clinical dengue disease (5). In 2023 alone, over 6 million clinical dengue cases and over 6000 dengue-related deaths were reported from 92 countries.