Background and aim:
In 1970 only 9 countries were affected and now there are almost 100 plus countries affected by Dengue viral fever. According to WHO, dengue cases are increasing aggressively. Around half of all people on the planet live in areas where dengue is a problem and there are thought to be 390 million infections each year.
Recently scientists have discovered that Wolbachia bacteria, known to infect other insects, make it harder for the dengue virus to grow inside the mosquito. If the dengue virus cannot replicate and increase its numbers in the mosquito then it is much less likely to be transmitted when the insect bites again. Wolbachia is not expensive at all and not harmful to the environment.
Wolbachia is a nifty type of bacteria that manipulate the way insects reproduce to ensure they are passed on to the next generation. In Aedes aegypti, the bacteria when present in males, disallows reproduction of mosquito eggs when the male has mated with any female mosquitoes lacking Wolbachia. However, the Wolbachia-infected females, who pass it on to all their young, can successful mate with any male. It means that Wolbachia can establish a vice-like grip in a population of mosquitoes. In the Kuala Lumpur trials, the proportion of mosquitoes affected by Wolbachia exceeded 90%. These Wolbachia bacteria can also be used to reducing the other viruses like Chikungunya, Yellow Fever & Zika.
Because of Wolbachia bacteria, experts have seen almost 70% reduction in dengue cases in most of the countries which have been introduced to the Wolbachia program, like Malaysia (40% – 90%), Brazil (70%), Indonesia (76%).
Multiple such effective measures combating our world’s mosquito-borne infectious diseases, when run in parallel, have given us hope in potentially eradicating these deadly diseases. Commitment to the progress of novel ideas, exploratory experiments and actively seeking solutions from nature, like Wolbachia bacteria, must continue unabated,” are our thoughts on such discoveries, here at Advy.
