Pakistani scientists find genetic connection to dengue fever virus

An exciting piece of research conducted at the Institute of Pharmaceutical and Environmental Research, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), by two Pakistani young researchers has found that the dengue fever virus has genetic or evolutionary connection, The News has learnt.

The researchers, Saadia Shakir and Waqas Ahmed Waseem, have been working under the supervision of Mushtaq Hussain, a postgraduate researcher from the University of Glasgow and faculty of DUHS.

In response to queries mailed by The News, Hussain said: “At present they (the researchers) are extending their research towards drug designing, which could stop those deadly pathogens to attach with human cells.”

Viral hemorrhagic fever is a life-threatening infection associated with four different families of viruses. The highly prevalent dengue virus and most virulent Ebola viruses, responsible for more than 80 percent mortality rate, are included in these families, he said.

“Previously, it is known that these viruses though causing the same disease has no genetic or evolutionary connection,” Husain said.However, research conducted at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, DUHS, by Saadia Shakir and Waqas Ahmed Waseem shows otherwise.

“Using virus coating proteins and full length genomic sequences Waqas has demonstrated that the dengue fever is actually diverged from a common ancestor from its African cousin Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus and is still diversifying into new stereotypes and forms,” Hussain said.

“Sadia extended this research to investigate the molecules involved in the virus and host interactions.“They have found that congruences in the binding pattern between Ebola and dengue as well as their genetic similarities conspicuously suggest evolutionary kinship.”

Dengue fever virus has resulted in a large number of deaths in Pakistan as elsewhere and the research by Pakistani scientists would not only bring accolades to the country’s otherwise ignored researchers, but also bring rich dividends to the country if the pharmaceutical industry took interest in it.

No doubt bringing the drug being made to the market would take time, but the breakthrough amply demonstrates that Pakistani researchers have the potential to compete with their counterparts at the global level if the authorities allocate more funds to science and technology rather than wasting precious resources on warfare and an irrational arms race.