Mosquitoes On The Run Due To Wolbachia Programmes.
Mosquitoes On The Run Due To Wolbachia Programmes.
Tags: Mosquitoes, WolbachiaAnonymous, St Kitts and Nevis Observer, 2024.
Dengue is becoming an increasingly common disease in Central America and the Caribbean, according to PAHO, even as deaths from the mosquito-born condition have fallen in recent years due to improved identification of the condition and medical care. However the World Mosquito Progam is reporting considerable success in reducing mosquito born diseases like Dengue and reporting remarkable results from countries such as Colombia and El Salvador by using something called the Wolbachia method. What is this?
Wolbachia are safe, naturally occurring bacteria present in up to 50% of species, including some mosquitoes. Wolbachia has evolved to live inside the cells of many insect species. It has maintained this lifestyle for tens of thousands of years. Wolbachia cannot survive outside of insect cells because it does not have the necessary machinery to replicate itself without help from the insect host. This means Wolbachia cannot survive in the environment (e.g. the air or soil).
Wolbachia is not a virus or a parasite. It is not a “gene drive”. Wolbachia has never been genetically modified by scientists. However, Wolbachia is not usually found in the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary species responsible for transmitting viruses such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and epidemic yellow fever.
