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Mosquitoes are one of the deadliest creatures on Earth. In a northern city of Australia, more than 80% of the mosquitoes that spread dengue fever were dazed during a pioneering tropical trial. Scientists say the results could help global efforts to eradicate the dangerous pest.
In the test, millions of Aedes aegypti, or yellow fever mosquitoes, were bred in a laboratory and infected with a natural bacterium that rendered them infertile. 19659003] They were then released near the small farming town of Innisfail in Queensland, 1600 kilometers north of Brisbane.
More than three months, they mated with females that lay without hatching, causing the population to fall. about 80 percent. The type of mosquito used in the trial is responsible for the infection of hundreds of millions of people around the world with diseases like dengue, Zika and yellow fever.
The project was led by researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, or CSIRO, as part of a trial funded by Google's parent company, Alphabet.
According to Rob Grenfell, Director of Health and Biosecurity at CSIRO, the results are a major breakthrough.
"Now, this is important in that we have significantly reduced mosquito populations in our test area in northern Queensland.," He said. "But also to commemorate the incredible community that has supported our science here, not only have they opened their hearts and minds, but also their homes to allow our scientists to trap and test our mosquito control technologies. "
Researchers want to test the technology abroad in an area with a high concentration of dengue fever. They believe that it could be a valuable weapon against a public health threat.
The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 4 billion people in 128 countries are at risk of contracting dengue fever. The disease is transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito. The WHO says the global incidence of dengue fever has risen 30-fold over the past 30 years.
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