Mosquitoes infected with virus-fighting bacteria cut dengue fever rates by more than 75 percent

member17 (45) in hive-160342 • 4 years ago

Mosquitoes infected with a unique bacteria have led to a staggering drop in dengue fever in a region of Indonesia, researchers say.
Between 2017 and 2020, scientists in Yogyakarta, Java, released millions of mosquitoes injected with Wolbachia, a bacterium that prevents them from transmitting the dengue virus.
The team found that infections were 77 percent lower in treated neighborhoods, compared to areas not exposed to the infected insects.

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4 years ago by member17 (45)

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remlaps (75) · 4 years ago

Wow. This is interesting, but also opens a real can of worms.

Reducing Dengue Fever like that sounds like a good result, but I'm not sure about the ethics of conducting an experiment like that when an entire population of people are potentially effected. And this also raises the possibility of a bad actor exploiting mosquitos in ways that are more harmful.

Here's what the article says about a similar experiment in the Florida Keys:

The modified mosquitoes are all male, and Oxitec contends that because only female mosquitoes can bite, the program poses no risk to humans.

But, says Barry Wray of the Florida Keys Environmental Coalition, 'People here in Florida do not consent to the genetically engineered mosquitoes or to being human experiments.'

Dana Perls, food and technology program manager at Friends of the Earth, called the program a 'dark moment in history' and demanded the EPA 'halt this live experiment immediately.'

Anyway, it is an interesting article. Thanks for the share.

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member17 (45) · 4 years ago

Thanks for the share too, it's interesting to hear your thought about this too

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