The dengue epidemic persists in New Caledonia. This viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti species, which causes fever, headache, joint pain and skin rashes. To stem the spread of the virus, the authorities of the city of Nouméa are preparing to use heavy resources. The new technique is based on a “mosquitoes against mosquitoes” war since it consists in releasing mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria in the insect vectors of the disease, namely the tiger mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti type. Once disseminated in areas contaminated by the virus, “attacking” mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria will reproduce with local mosquitoes and transmit the bacteria to their offspring. After a few months, most mosquitoes will spread Wolbachia. And that should spell the end of the dengue epidemic if the operation is successful.
Why use bacteria to attack the dengue virus? Once inside the mosquito, Wolbachia has the ability to remove the insect’s ability to transmit viruses such as dengue, zika and the chikungunya. “This natural approach to eliminating the spread of viruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti is an alternative to direct mosquito population control initiatives which do reduce the number of mosquitoes in an area, but require constant application and end up being very expensive “, explains the town hall of Nouméa on his site.
A successful dengue project in 5 countries
The project called “Eliminate Dengue Project” was carried out in collaboration with Monash University in Australia. The technique seems to have proved its worth in other countries (Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Colombia and Brazil) where it has been tested since 2011. “Field observations have shown a significant reduction in dengue transmission in the areas or Wolbachia is established, ”points out the city of Noumea.
“Thanks to this autonomous method based on the introduction of Wolbachia, today we can use the best of nature to fight against the worst of nature”, welcomed Dr. Tristan Derycke, deputy mayor of the City of Noumea.
A new method tested in New Caledonia to reduce the transmission of #denguehttps://t.co/bjzJ1Kn6Hd
– Upbm-asso (@UpbmAsso) December 27, 2016
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