Chikungunya, dengue and Japanese encephalitis: these are just some of the tropical diseases caused by viruses and transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks for which there are no vaccines or effective treatments.
Although these diseases originate far from our borders, in recent years, rising temperatures due to climate change and increased international travel and trade have brought these insects to Europe and with them, the viruses. Several cases of these diseases have already appeared in Spain and France.
At the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), a team of scientists led by researcher Cristina Risco is determined to fight these diseases. To do this, they want to test whether existing drugs are able to act on infected cells. Now, anyone who wants to help can collaborate through the PRECIPITA crowdfunding platform of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT).
A race against time
"These diseases are spreading very quickly –so quickly, in fact, that there is no time to develop anything new against them,” Risco explains, “so we want to analyze existing drugs. We know they are safe and are used to treat other diseases. Therefore, if they would also be effective against these emerging viruses, development of a treatment could be much faster.
To define the mechanism of drug action and determine what happens in cells in which they fail to stem the infection, the team will use new microscopy techniques they have developed. "First we visualize living cells by light microscopy and then analyze them in great detail using electron microscopy," says Risco.
Crowdfunding for science
Through the PRECIPITA platform, the scientists not only seek funding to achieve their goal; they say "it also helps involve people in science and allows them to collaborate within their means through small donations"
Contributions start from €10. If the minimum target is reached (€6000), two antiviral drugs can be studied, but the researchers say that "If through people’s help we receive more money, we could increase the number of drugs studied and hire a laboratory technician to assist in the project".