Special mosquitoes will be used to fight the tropical disease dengue fever for the first time in Honduras. About this subject aedes aegyptiMosquitoes infected in the laboratory with the native Wolbachia bacteria, which reduces the transmission of diseases from arboviruses, including dengue, Zika and Chingungunya. The innovative method was tested by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) after it proved effective in other countries with high dengue fever.
MSF is running this project in collaboration with the Honduran Ministry of Health, the World Mosquito Program and the National Autonomous University of Honduras. MSF Mexico and Central America deputy general manager Dr. “Emergency thresholds are reaching alarming levels and current prevention methods are inadequate,” said Silvia Dallatomasina. “It’s time to change our strategy to protect communities from diseases susceptible to climate change,” she added.
Vaccines are missing
Dengue fever is a common viral infection, especially in urban areas of tropical countries, and is transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes that cause fever, headache, muscle pain and nausea. Severe cases require hospital treatment and the disease can be fatal. In Honduras, epidemics are becoming more severe, with more than 10,000 cases of dengue fever each year; In 2023 there will be more than 9,200 cases in the capital alone.
There is currently no specific treatment available and no vaccine has yet been produced that guarantees effective protection against infections. Mosquitoes have become resistant to traditional techniques and pesticides due to the use of old methods of prevention. With this new method, Wolbachia is given to mosquito eggs in the laboratory, and after the eggs become adults, they are left in the intervention areas to reduce the spread of these diseases, and the bacteria is ensured to be transmitted to the next generations by mating with mosquitoes. local species.
Although this bacterium is found naturally in 50% of insects, including some mosquitoes, fruit flies, moths, dragonflies and butterflies, it is not naturally present in major carriers such as mosquitoes. aedes aegypti. “When mosquitoes carry Wolbachia, this bacterium fights viruses like dengue, making it harder for mosquitoes to reproduce,” said MSF technical advisor Claire Dorion. “The prevalence of dengue fever in areas where Wolbachia is resident in local mosquitoes,” he said.
safe method
MSF assures that this method is safe for both humans and the environment, and has been successfully applied in more than 12 countries such as Australia, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, reaching nearly 10 million people. The results show that virus transmission is significantly reduced in areas with high levels of Wolbachia bacteria in the local mosquito population. In Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, the health agency works closely with local communities to design and implement all activities in the 50 neighborhoods of the El Manchén health district, which has some of the highest rates of transmission of infectious diseases. mosquitoes.
Relevant local communities
Before starting their activities, MSF teams consulted with more than 10,000 community members in the region. Interviews show that 97% of the people consulted supported the project and many were actively involved in the spread of “modified” mosquitoes. “Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes will be released weekly for six months and the mosquito population will be tested over the next three years to determine the percentage of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes,” MSF said in a statement. said. In 2024, further vector control activities will be carried out in the other two regions of the capital.
It affects the climate
Dengue fever is a serious public health problem not only in Honduras, but also in Central and South America. More than half of the world’s population is at risk due to climate change. Already in April, the World Health Organization warned that these diseases are spreading more broadly from mosquitoes to humans, which “causes an increasing number of epidemics around the world where climate change, deforestation and urbanization are some of the main risk factors”. . A billion more people are expected to suffer from dengue in the coming years due to rising temperatures over increasingly longer periods of time.
Source: Today IT

Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.