Bacteria-infected mosquitoes slash dengue cases

By infecting mosquitoes with a common bacterium, scientists have in trials reduced the ability of the insect to transmit dengue, chikungunya and other viral diseases by up to 79 per cent.

The Wolbachia bacteria can disrupt reproduction of the dengue virus within mosquitoes, according to the research of the World Mosquito Program. Photo: World Mosquito Program

The best trial results came from Brazil’s Niterói city, where dengue incidence reduced by 79 per cent and chikungunya by 75 per cent within a year of releasing mosquitoes laboratory-infected with Wolbachia — a common bacterium harmless to humans and the environment.

Scientists from the World Mosquito Program (WMP), who conducted the trials in Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam, told that Wolbachia works by inhibiting reproduction of the viral pathogens while inside the mosquitoes.

Over the last decade, the programme has released Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes – the main vector of dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever — in several cities around the world

The cities of Cairns and Townsville, in Queensland, Australia, which started the trials in 2011, have shown a 96 per cent reduction in dengue incidence and no dengue outbreaks in the past five years. The research also mentioned a reduction in reported dengue cases in a smaller field study in Vinh Luong, Vietnam, in 2018.

According to the WMP, there are trials ongoing in Colombia, India, Sri Lanka and the Western Pacific island nations, driven by a large body of evidence indicating that establishing Wolbachia in local mosquito populations could safely reduce dengue infections.

The Wolbachia method can help developing countries reduce disease burden, especially when used in conjunction with conventional control methods, like mosquito source reduction, insecticides or vaccination.

Since Wolbachia is a natural parasite, it is already better than insecticides, but continuous monitoring is necessary because not all strains of Wolbachia can interrupt the infection cycle, and there is the risk of generating resistance. (SciDev.Net)

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