Dengue and Zika virus family uses an unexpected approach to hijack human cell machinery

A group of researchers in Germany have discovered that flaviviruses—a family that includes Dengue, Zika and West Nile viruses—use an unexpected mechanism to hijack the cell’s machinery to replicate themselves compared to many other RNA viruses. The findings, published this week in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, highlight new ways by which viruses manipulate human cells and may reveal new targets for designing antiviral therapies.