Lab-grown special mosquitoes can be the secret weapon to fight dengue

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Biotechnology

Concept :

In a laboratory in Medellín, Colombia, scientists grow about 30 million Aedes aegypti mosquitoes every week.
The Aedes mosquitoes are carriers of the dengue virus; paradoxically the ones grown in the lab will be used for the fight against dengue.
The World Mosquito Program (WMP), a nonprofit organisation started in 2017, has pioneered this unconventional approach to combat mosquito-borne diseases.

Process

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are infected with the dengue virus when they bite infected people.
After about a week, the bite of the mosquito can cause the spread of the disease.
To disrupt the transmission of dengue and other viruses, the scientists infect the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacteria found in over 50% of insect species.
Wolbachia lives inside insect cells and can be passed down maternally through generations, effectively reducing the transmission of the dengue virus. The Wolbachia method has been tried and tested for a decade now.

In India

It is suggested that the method is well-suited for southern Indian states due to the lesser temperature variations between seasons.
Temperature and humidity not only affect dengue transmission, but also impact the Wolbachia method.
In places where there is greater variation in temperatures, the density and frequency of the Wolbachia is affected.
Further temperature studies are needed across different regions of India.

Related Topic

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

GM mosquitoes are mass-produced in a laboratory to carry two types of genes:
A self-limiting gene that prevents female mosquito offspring from surviving to adulthood.
A fluorescent marker gene that glows under a special red light. This allows researchers to identify GM mosquitoes in the wild.
GM mosquitoes produced in the laboratory lay eggs. These eggs carry the self-limiting and fluorescent marker genes.
GM mosquito eggs that carry the self-limiting gene are released into an area. Once they have hatched and develop through to the adult stage, they are available to mate with wild females. The genes are passed on to offspring.
The male mosquitoes have a protein (the tTAV-OX5034 protein) that prevents female offspring from surviving when male OX5034 mosquitoes mate with wild female mosquitoes.
The female offspring die before they become adults. The expected result is that the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the area decreases.