TAKING A SWAT AT DENGUE: Singapore is experimenting using male Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes to fight dengue. Wolbachia, a common bacterium among insects, does not infect Aedes aegypti, a species of mosquito that is a major carrier of dengue. It stops the virus from replicating inside mosquitoes that transmit the disease. Without it, we have few weapons against dengue. Researchers are infecting the mosquito with Wolbachia in the laboratory and then releasing them into the wild. The goal is to reduce infections in humans by getting Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to mate and pass the bacterium to future generations. Despite having one of the highest standards of health care in Asia, dengue is said to be endemic in hot and humid Singapore. Picture shows the male mosquitoes in an enclosure at the National Environmental Agency mosquito production facility in Singapore. — PHOTO: AFP
TAKING A SWAT AT DENGUE: Singapore is experimenting using male Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes to fight dengue. Wolbachia, a common bacterium among insects, does not infect Aedes aegypti , a species of mosquito that is a major carrier of dengue. It stops the virus from replicating inside mosquitoes that transmit the disease. Researchers are infecting the mosquitoes with Wolbachia in a laboratory and then releasing them into the wild. The goal is to reduce infections in humans by getting these mosquitoes to mate and pass the bacterium to future generations. Despite having one of the highest standards of health care in Asia, dengue is said to be endemic in hot and humid Singapore. Picture shows the male mosquitoes in an enclosure at the National Environmental Agency mosquito production facility in the island city-state. — PHOTO: AFP
