Latest press releases

• Dengue: asymptomatic people transmit the virus to mosquitoes

Scientists at the Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the CNRS provided proof that people infected by dengue virus but showing no clinical symptoms can actually infect mosquitoes that bite them.

It appears that these asymptomatic people - who, together with mildly symptomatic patients, represent three-quarters of all dengue infections - could be involved in the transmission chain of the virus.

These findings, published in the journal PNAS, on November 9, question established theories concerning the epidemiology of dengue.

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• Gut microbiota boosts cancer immunotherapy

The vital role of the gut microbiota for successful immunotherapy has been revealed in a study recently published in the journal Science.

Scientists have identified intestinal bacteria that can improve the therapeutic response of this treatment and lessen one of its frequent side effects, ulcerative colitis.

This research suggests that in future, the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy could be determined by the composition of patients' gut microbiota.

The scientists hope to be able to develop a predictive test to assess the response to immunotherapy by analyzing the gut microbiota. These findings should also make it possible to offer patients the option of rebuilding their gut microbiota to restore the antitumor effects of immunotherapy.

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