US reviews plan to infect mosquitoes with 'benign' bacteria to stop Zika, dengue, chikungunya.

 

US reviews plan to infect mosquitoes with bacteria to stop Zika, dengue, chikungunya. HT: Crof.

Via Nature News & Comment:  US reviews plan to infect mosquitoes with bacteria to stop disease. Excerpt:

The United States could soon become the first country to approve the commercial use of a common bacterium to fight the spread of mosquitoes that can transmit viruses such as Zika, dengue and Chikungunya. 

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing an application from the biotechnology start-up MosquitoMate to use the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis as a tool against the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). The company plans to market Wolbachia as a pesticide — one that kills only mosquitoes, and leaves other insects untouched. The EPA’s decision on the matter will come after a public-comment period that ends on 31 May. 

MosquitoMate’s strategy involves rearing mosquitoes infected with a particular strain of Wolbachia and releasing the males into the environment. When these male mosquitoes mate with wild females who do not carry the same strain of Wolbachia, the resulting fertilized eggs don’t hatch, because the paternal chromosomes do not form properly. As infected male mosquitoes continue to be released to breed with wild partners, the pest population dwindles. 

Eight countries have now reported cases of microcephaly or other fetal birth defects that are probably caused by Zika, leading officials in many areas to consider new options for reducing mosquito populations. “We need as many effective tools as we can get, so we need to give Wolbachia a try,” says Tom Scott, an entomologist at the University of California, Davis. “That will require a well-developed plan for how trials would be done.” 

MosquitoMate, which was started by researchers at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, has tested Wolbachia in A. albopictus mosquitoes in three states over the past three years. The approach has reduced the wild mosquito population by more than 70% in those areas, says Stephen Dobson, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky and founder of the company. Hmmm......Sorry West Nile you're not a club member. Read the full story here.

Eurosurveillance: "Unprecedented" concurrent outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya, Zika virus in the Pacific

Eurosurveillance: "Unprecedented" concurrent outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya, Zika virus in the Pacific. HT: Crof.

Via Eurosurveillance: Concurrent outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus infections - unprecedented epidemic wave of mosquito-borne viruses in the Pacific 2012-2014. The abstract:

Since January 2012, the Pacific Region has experienced 28 new documented outbreaks and circulation of dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus. 

These mosquito-borne disease epidemics seem to become more frequent and diverse, and it is likely that this is only the early stages of a wave that will continue for several years. 

Improved surveillance and response measures are needed to mitigate the already heavy burden on island health systems and limit further spread to other parts of the world. 

Hmmm....In case you are wondering which mosquitoes carry Chikungunya....The same type that carry West Nile virus, north America be warned!

Hmmm....I've been posting quite a bit about Chikungunya these last months because i see a huge threat to the US, when this arrives in the US Wetlands. More on chik-V here and here.

PAHO: Almost 800,000 chikungunya case as of October 17 (it says here)

The Pan American Health Organization has posted its regular Friday update on chikungunya in the Caribbean and neighboring nations. 

We are now up to epidemiological week 42, but some countries are weeks if not months behind. If not for Ebola taking all the attention, this would be a big scandal.


The regional total is 759,742 suspected cases, plus 12,327 confirmed, plus 1,708 imported. But the Dominican Republic is still at week 38 (486,306 suspected cases, just 84 confirmed). Next door, Haiti hasn't bothered to report since week 28, so we know of only 64,695 cases when the true number must be closer to a million.

So it goes, week after week with no explanation. Download the PDF if you like, but don't bother to print it out. Paper is more valuable.