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Australian scientists wiped out 80% of disease-carrying mosquitoes in Queensland's state testing areas in the north-east of the country, as part of an experiment aimed at to suppress what the authorities call "one of the most dangerous pests in the world".
Researchers raised and released millions of sterile male mosquitoes Aedes aegypti to suppress the population, reported on Tuesday the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)
"The invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito is one of the most dangerous pests in the world, capable of spreading devastating diseases such as dengue, zika and chikungunya and d? infect millions of people each year around the world, "said Rob Grenfell, director of CSIRO, report of the organization," A warmer planet and increased urbanization help mosquitoes thrive, "he added. 19659002] Dengue fever is a potentially life-threatening tropical disease that causes symptoms such as severe muscle and joint pain, vomiting and rashes. s mild symptoms in adults, has been linked to serious conbad malformations such as microcephaly. This virus became notorius after a 2015-16 epidemic swept the Americas. Although no local transmission of mosquito-borne Zika virus has been reported to the CDC in the Americas this year, it continues to be prevalent in Central and South America.
Aedes aegypti Female mosquitoes, which can spread Zika virus when they bite humans, can not reproduce correctly with sterile males. Instead, they lay eggs that fail to hatch. With enough sterile males in one area, the population may eventually collapse.
"It's an exotic mosquito, we want to get rid of it.This is not an important part of the environment and it's a major disease spreader around the world "said Paul De Barro of CSIRO at the Australian Associated Press.
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Scientists from the James Cook University were aiming to raise some 20 million mosquitoes. The team used the technology developed by Alphabet Inc.-affiliated Verily to screen these creatures and release the males, who were sterilized using a natural bacterium called Wolbachia . The team has released about three million men from November 2017 to June this year in parts of the Australian coast of Cbadowary.
"We took into account the possibility of death during the process, as well as the need to screen the female half." Kyran Staunton of James Cook University said in the CSIRO report
that the team compared the populations of Aedes aegypti in the test sites and in various control areas. "We are very pleased to see a strong suppression of these dangerous female mosquitoes Aedes aegypti "Nigel Snoad of Verily added.
Researchers believe their success could help other areas where this dangerous creature is flying." We learned a lot from collaborating on this first try We are excited to see how this approach could be applied in other areas where Aedes aegypti poses a threat to life and health, "said Staunton. 39; Austral ie, Verily's "Debug" project also spreads sterile mosquitoes in Fresno, California
CSIRO, James Cook University and Verily did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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