10-09-20, 08:08
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Dengue Breakthrough >Mosquitoes Laced With Natural Bacteria
Dengue Breakthrough After Mosquitoes Laced With Natural Bacteria
Infections in Indonesian city plummet after release of mosquitoes injected with Wolbachia bacteria
The Guardian UK, 10 SEP 2020
Infecting mosquitoes with a naturally occurring bacteria dramatically reduces their ability to transmit dengue, according to a breakthrough study that could pave the way to eliminating the disease.
Research conducted in Indonesia, where dengue is endemic, found that releasing mosquitoes infected with the bacteria Wolbachia into parts of Yogyakarta city reduced the number of dengue infections by 77% compared with untreated areas.
“We are really hopeful this will lead to local elimination [of dengue] in Yogyakarta city, and the next stage is to scale up beyond Yogyakarta to other parts of Indonesia,” said Dr Katie Anders, director of impact assessment at the World Mosquito Program, and one of the study’s lead researchers.
The same method is also being applied in other countries where dengue is prevalent, with the aim of eliminating the disease as a public health concern.
During the study, buckets of mosquito eggs infected with Wolbachia were gradually distributed to homes in the city over a period of around six months. In total, about 6 million mosquitoes were released across an area of 13 square kilometres, where they then infected other wild mosquitoes.
Other parts of the city did not receive any infected mosquitoes, with health teams instead continuing the usual disease control methods.
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