Dengue Fever Transmission Has Been Cut by an Incredible 77% in a Real-World Trial
Scientists just got a step closer to eliminating the spread of mosquito-borne viruses, with an experimental approach against dengue fever passing its most thorough test yet.
In a randomized, double-blind trial, researchers introduced mosquitoes infected with the virus-fighting Wolbachia bacteria into an Indonesian city. Over the next 27 months, the participants in the areas with the bacteria-carrying insects experienced 77 percent less dengue than those in the control group.
"This result demonstrates what an exciting breakthrough Wolbachia can be - a safe, durable and efficacious new product class for dengue control is just what the global community needs," says infectious researcher Cameron Simmons from Monash University. He's also director of the Oceania Hub at the World Mosquito Program, which led the trial.
Dengue fever, caused by the dengue virus, is spread by female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. It's found globally in tropical and sub-tropical areas and in recent decades infections have surged, with an estimated 100 to 400 million infections each year. The World Health Organization now considers dengue the most critical mosquito-borne virus in the world (malaria is caused by a parasite, not a virus).
