Dengue fever could be eradicated in hot countries

By infecting mosquitoes with bacteria that halts the spread of the life-threatening illness

Dengue fever could be eradicated in hot countries by infecting mosquitoes with bacteria that halts the spread of the illness.

Scientists injected a strain of Wolbachia into mosquitoes bred in a lab, before releasing them around Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

When the mosquitoes breed, they produce offspring that also carry Wolbachia. Dengue bacteria struggles to compete and survive.

Results of the trial showed the technique helped to slash human cases of the serious infection by 40 per cent over the course of around a year.

The approach has been trialed in various countries - including Vietnam and Australia - with ‘remarkable’ reductions in dengue cases.

But this research, led by the universities of Glasgow and Melbourne, is the first time it has proven to work in hotter climates of 36°C (96.8°F).

It could be a major breakthrough for hot countries in Africa and South America, for example, where dengue is endemic.

Professor Steven Sinkins, co-author of the study published in the journal

Current Biology, said: ‘We are excited by these findings...

‘We have a strain of Wolbachia that can be used to effectively reduce the number of dengue cases in very hot climates.

‘The next step is to deploy this strain in more and larger sites, but we are now confident that this will become an effective way to control dengue on a large scale.’

Dengue fever is usually mild, with symptoms including fever, a severe headache and pain behind the eyes.

There is no cure or specific treatment, with most cases passing in around a week. However, it can become lifethreatening.

Of an estimated 390million dengue infections worldwide, 500,000 cases develop into dengue haemorrhagic fever, a more severe form of the disease.

The Aedes aegypti is the main mosquito that spreads dengue, along with yellow fever and Zika.

In an attempt to combat the disease, scientists from around the world have been infecting Aedes aegypti with Wolbachia in the laboratory.