Mosquito trials raise hopes of defeating dengue
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The World Mosquito Program (WMP) has pioneered a method where male and female Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes are infected with the disease-resistant bacteria called Wolbachia before being released into the wild.
In a matter of weeks, baby mosquitoes are born carrying Wolbachia, which acts as a disease buffer for the bugs -- making it harder for them to pass on not only dengue, but Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.
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Since the trials, dengue cases are down 86 percent in Vinh Luong compared to nearby resort town Nha Trang.
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Cases have surged not only in Vietnam this year but across Southeast Asia, with around 670,000 infected and more than 1,800 people dead in the region, according to an AFP tally of national and World Health Organization data.
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Results from WMP's Wolbachia trials in northern Australia and on the Vietnamese island Tri Nguyen have been positive -- local dengue transmissions are almost non-existent -- and outcomes from trials in Indonesia are expected in the next year.
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