Dengue and chikungunya are viral diseases transmitted by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito (characterized by its black and white legs). When this insect feeds itself with the blood of a person sick with dengue or chikungunya and then bites other people, it transmits these diseases. It should be noted that contagion is only produced by the bite of infected mosquitoes.
Mariela Bollini, doctor in medicinal chemistry and researcher in charge of a laboratory in Center for Bionanosciences Research (CIBION), explaines in this video what chikungunya is, which are its symptoms and the main differences with dengue. Besides, the scientist resumed some of her research projects about this pathology.
On the other hand, Facundo Gallo, phd candidate and member of Bollini’s lab, speaks about dengue: its main characteristics and his research project.
About the prevention
Nowadays, as Bollini and Gallo said, it doesn’t exist a vacuum that prevents people from dengue and chikungunya, and medicines that treat these diseases, neither. Because of that, the most important action in order to face them is to eliminate mosquito breeding sites. That means, all the places that contain water.
