New high-tech strategies are being developed to combat the spread of Dengue fever, the fastest spreading insect-borne viral illness in the world (spread by mosquitoes), affecting 20 times as many people as the flu Researchers have discovered an unusual bacteria called Wolbachia, and mosquitoes infected with this bacterium are completely unable to transmit the Dengue virus to humans, which holds great promise for drastically reducing infection worldwide; Wolbachia appears to be a much safer option than the genetically engineered strategies being developed by other biotech companies, such as Oxitec. British biotech company Oxitec has been genetically engineering mosquitoes to produce offspring that die before they reach maturity, but this strategy has proven less reliable, more expensive, and far more risky than infecting mosquitoes with Wolbachia bacteria. Oxitec has released millions of these genetically engineered (GE) “suicide mosquitoes” into several countries, without the consent of the public or long-term safety studies, highlighting concerns over the lack of regulation of release of GE insects into the environment
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 13:37:58 +0000
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