This is an updated version of the first post I wrote this year. The scientists in question were looking at ways of recruiting bacteria in the fight against mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue fever. They’ve just published new results that expand on their earlier experiments.
Mosquitoes are incredibly successful parasites and cause millions of human deaths every year through the infections they spread. But they are no match for the most successful parasite of all – a bacterium called Wolbachia. It infects around 60% of the world’s insect species and it could be our newest recruit in the fight against malaria, dengue fever and other mosquito-borne infections.
Wolbachia doesn’t usually infect mosquitoes but Scott O’Neill from the University of Queensland is leading a team of researchers who are trying to enlist it. Earlier this year, they published the story of their first success. They had developed a strain that not only infects mozzies, but halves the lifespans of infected females. Now, as the year comes to an end, they’re back with another piece of good news – their life-shortening bacteria also guard the mosquitoes from other infections.
It protects them against a species of Plasmodium, related to the parasite that causes malaria in humans, as well as the viruses responsible for dengue fever and Chikungunya. Infected insects are less likely to carry parasites that cause human disease, and those that do won’t live long enough to spread them. It’s a significant double-whammy that could have a lot of potential in controlling mosquito-borne diseases.