London – A dengue fever pill manufactured by Johnson & Johnson appeared to protect against a version of the virus in a few patients, in a tiny human challenge trial conducted in the United States. Before presenting the research at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting in Chicago, the company noted that there are presently no particular medicines for dengue, a disease danger that is on the rise. “It is the first ever to show antiviral activity against dengue,” Marnix Van Loock, who oversees emerging pathogens research for J&J’s Janssen division, said of the drug.