Dengue fever is a terrible disease carried by mosquitoes and most common in tropical climates, such as those in South American countries.
Ironically, Brazilian researchers have found a way to turn mosquitoes, the carriers of dengue fever, into preventers of the disease. The team is releasing "good" mosquitoes to fight the disease, which causes fever, and in some cases, vomiting and bleeding. Severe dengue can be fatal.
The researchers infected mosquitoes with the "cure" to dengue fever, a bacteria that squelches the disease. The bacteria, called Wolbachia, can't be transmitted to humans, so the researchers are hoping to stop the disease at its source: mosquitoes. The team is hoping that the cured mosquitoes will reproduce and become the dominant mosquito in Brazil, reducing cases of dengue fever in humans.
The team is also orchestrating the release of "good" mosquitoes in Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia, where dengue fever is present. This project began in 2012.
"Our teams performed weekly visits to the four neighbourhoods in Rio being targeted. Mosquitoes were analysed after collection in special traps," said Luciano Moreira, the leader of the project in Brazil.
The team is planning to release thousands of infected mosquitoes a month for the next four months. The researchers released the first batch this month in Rio de Janeiro.
The bacteria the team is using is able to prevent the dengue virus from spreading in the mosquito itself. A male mosquito with the bacteria will be unable to reproduce even with a female mosquito that does not carry it. If a female has the bacteria but a male mosquito does not, their offspring would carry the bacteria. The effects of the treatment should hold for the second generation of mosquitoes.
Wolbachia would not have the same effect in humans, but by planting it in the mosquito the team may be able to significantly reduce the amount of dengue fever spread each year. This could be an extremely efficient solution to the virus.
Over 40 percent of the world's population is currently at risk from dengue fever, according to the WHO. Approximately 390 million people are infected with the dengue virus each year. There is currently no known cure, or even treatment for the disease.
The disease even reaches parts of the United States. Florida reported 24 cases of dengue; residents were warned to watch out for the disease and other mosquito-borne illnesses.
