Dallas

Unlocking Secrets of West Nile Virus

Scientists at University of Texas Southwestern are trying to unlock the secrets of the West Nile virus.

The mosquito-borne illness sickens hundreds of people every year and can be deadly, yet some people who get the virus don't show any symptoms. Lisa Cheeks of Dallas was one of the unlucky ones who contracted the severe form of the virus in 2012.

"I knew I was very sick, but the thought of getting out of bed was overwhelming," she said. "I literally thought i was going to die."

The 35-year-old mother of three said she had never been seriously ill in her life and, to this day, has no idea why she was sickened to the point where she wasn't able to get out of bed or complete sentences.

"People are walking around with it every day and they show no symptoms, so I still wonder why I got it and got such a severe form," she said.

The answer might be hidden in the DNA of the West Nile virus.

Scientists at UT Southwestern are using genome sequencing to break the DNA down to its most simple form and see how the virus has mutated over the years.

"We are trying to characterize exactly how these changes in the sequences of the viral genome affect how infectious it is, how does that really affect a human cell," says Chukwuemika Aroh, a UT Southwestern research student.

So far, they've discovered the changes inside the West Nile virus strain that caused Cheeks and 1,800 other Texans to become seriously ill in 2012. They will use that information to see if there is a way to predict future mutations and if there's something in human DNA that plays a role in how sick a person gets.

"As in West Nile virus, most of us can fight this off, but it has the ability to take advantage of some versions of the immune system that just a subset of people have, by chance, and they're more at risk to have the disease," says Dr. Ward Wakeland, Chairman of Immunology at UT Southwestern.

Their research will help drugmakers pinpoint a target when developing possible vaccines or medicines and could shed light on other similar viruses, like Dengue Fever and the Zika virus. 

 "It would make me so happy to see no one else have to go through this," said Cheeks, who still feels the effects from the illness, such as short-term memory loss and occasional numbness in her left arm.

"It was a true lesson in waking up and saying 'I might not be able to take care of my kids,'" she said. "That was panic mode for me. That was scary."

The Centers for Disease Control says between 70 to 80 percent of people who become infected with West Nile Virus do not develop any symptoms.

Currently, there are no vaccines or drugs for human infection of the West Nile virus.

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