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Mosquitoes used to fight dengue fever
Source: Agencies |
November 12, 2010, Friday
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SCIENTISTS have released genetically modified mosquitoes in an experiment to fight dengue fever in the Cayman Islands, British experts said yesterday.
It is the first time genetically altered mosquitoes have been set loose in the wild, after years of laboratory experiments and hypothetical calculations. But while scientists believe the trial could lead to a breakthrough in stopping the disease, there are some concerns over what impact the mosquitoes will have on the environment.
"This test in the Cayman Islands could be a big step forward," said Andrew Read, a professor of biology and entomology at Pennsylvania State University, who was not involved in the project.
Dengue is a potentially fatal 掳?mosquito-borne disease that can cause fever, muscle and joint pain, and hemorrhagic bleeding. More than 2.5 billion people are at risk and the World Health 掳?Organization estimates there are at least 50 million cases worldwide every year. There is no treatment or ?vaccine.
Dengue outbreaks are unpredictable and bed nets are of limited use because dengue-spreading mosquitoes also bite during the day.
Researchers at Oxitec Limited, an Oxford-based company, created sterile male mosquitoes by manipulating the insects' DNA. Scientists in the Cayman Islands released 3 million mutant male mosquitoes to mate with wild female mosquitoes of the same species. That meant they wouldn't be able to produce any offspring and lower the population. Only female mosquitoes bite humans and spread diseases.
Scientists released batches of genetically mutated male mosquitoes in cages three times a week in a 16-hectare area. In three months, mosquito numbers in that region dropped by 80 percent compared with a neighboring area where no sterile male mosquitoes were released.
It is the first time genetically altered mosquitoes have been set loose in the wild, after years of laboratory experiments and hypothetical calculations. But while scientists believe the trial could lead to a breakthrough in stopping the disease, there are some concerns over what impact the mosquitoes will have on the environment.
"This test in the Cayman Islands could be a big step forward," said Andrew Read, a professor of biology and entomology at Pennsylvania State University, who was not involved in the project.
Dengue is a potentially fatal 掳?mosquito-borne disease that can cause fever, muscle and joint pain, and hemorrhagic bleeding. More than 2.5 billion people are at risk and the World Health 掳?Organization estimates there are at least 50 million cases worldwide every year. There is no treatment or ?vaccine.
Dengue outbreaks are unpredictable and bed nets are of limited use because dengue-spreading mosquitoes also bite during the day.
Researchers at Oxitec Limited, an Oxford-based company, created sterile male mosquitoes by manipulating the insects' DNA. Scientists in the Cayman Islands released 3 million mutant male mosquitoes to mate with wild female mosquitoes of the same species. That meant they wouldn't be able to produce any offspring and lower the population. Only female mosquitoes bite humans and spread diseases.
Scientists released batches of genetically mutated male mosquitoes in cages three times a week in a 16-hectare area. In three months, mosquito numbers in that region dropped by 80 percent compared with a neighboring area where no sterile male mosquitoes were released.
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