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Melvin Kumar, a member of the World Mosquito Program (WMP), examines mosquito larvae under a microscope at Mataika House, Tamavua, Suva, July 13, 2018. Photo: Sheenam Chandra
Efforts to kill the spreading mosquito dengue, zika and chikungunya will start in the country today
Coordinated by the World Mosquito Program (WMP), in badociation with the Ministry of Health, the project will launch its first batch of carrier mosquitoes from Wolbachia bacteria in the village of Tamavua
There is a long history of mosquito-borne diseases in the Pacific Islands. WMP said that in recent years alone, there have been 30,000 suspected cases of dengue in the country, Vanuatu and Kiribati. In New Caledonia, more than 10,000 dengue cases have been reported in just nine months.
" Wolbachia is a naturally occurring bacterium found in 60% of the species of insects," said Aminiasi Tavui, co-computer maker of WMP at a press conference Friday in Mataika House, Tamavua
Mosquitoes will be released along the Suva-Nausori corridor and Lami – hot spots for Aedesaegypts mosquitoes – from which the liberation of Wolbachia carrying mosquitoes will balance the presence of dengue mosquitoes and will gradually take them out of the ecosystem.
Once mosquito-bearing Wolbachia breed with local mosquitoes, they transmit the bacteria to their offspring. Over time, these Wolbachia mosquitoes help block the transmission of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, according to WMP.
million. Tavui stated that the bacterium Wolbachia was safe for humans, animals and the environment. There were nearly 26 varieties of mosquitoes, but Aedes aegyptis – the main species responsible for the transmission of viruses such as zika, dengue and chikungunya among humans – was known as good bacteria. chosen to reproduce. "The return was made at the University of Monash, Australia, which is the headquarters of WMP," said Tavui.
Geoff Wilson, project manager, said the project, funded until the Australian government. The project is currently underway in Kiribati and Vanuatu
The cost of the project amounts to 11.96 million FJ (A $ 7.7 million) in total for the Pacific Islands
by Naisa Koroi
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