The discovery comes from Argentinian researchers. A fungus could destroy the larvae of mosquitoes that transmit chikungunya and dengue viruses, two infectious diseases that are spreading in different regions of the world.
While there is currently no treatment for these viral infections, Leptolegnia chapmanii appears to be a promising fungus in the eyes of researchers at the National University of La Plata, near Buenos Aires.
The reason? This fungus easily adapts to different aquatic environments, clean water or not, regardless of temperature. It is also easy to grow at a lower cost. Its main strength lies in its power to harm 15 varieties of mosquitoes.
A powerful insecticide
A concrete idea germinates in the mind of Juan Garcia, director of the study: to be able to exploit the fungus to make a “large-scale biological insecticide” liquid or tablet version which would diffuse its toxic footprint in the water so as to eradicate the larvae of chikungunya and dengue fever. We could thus “control the spread of the virus”, explains Juan Garcia.
This Argentinian discovery comes at a time when concern is growing in France as a first case of dengue fever was discovered in the PACA region in recent days.
As to chikungunya, a vaccine was developed by American researchers and successfully tested on 25 volunteers. But this treatment has not yet been approved.