Bacteria can fight dengue fever

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Humans can rule out dengue through a bacterium that has the ability to halve the life cycle of infected mosquitoes.

Dengue fever is an acute infectious disease caused by Dengue virus. Every year the world has tens of thousands of people with dengue fever, most in tropical countries with hot and humid climates.

Visus causes disease to invade human body when mosquitoes carry Dengue virus to suck our blood. Pesticide spraying has been the most common way to kill mosquitoes. But this method raises a number of problems, including mosquitoes that develop resistance to pesticides.

Scientists at the University of Queensland (Australia) discovered a strain of bacteria called Wolbachia that could halve the lifespan of its host. Meanwhile, mosquitoes carrying dengue virus are unable to fight Wilbachia.

After invading female mosquitoes, Wolbachia can attack young mosquitoes. The life cycle of mosquitoes is shorter, meaning they will die sooner. Another interesting point is: Bacteria make many subtle changes to male mosquitoes so that they can only create the next generation with infected female mosquitoes.

As expected of the research team, the life of the mosquitoes in the laboratory halved (only a few weeks) after they were attacked by Wolbachia. This result is significant, because after the Dengue virus mosquito burns humans or animals, the Dengue virus needs an incubation period that lasts from 1 to 3 weeks.

According to experts, only "old" mosquitoes can be dangerous to humans, but Wolbachia will cause them to die earlier, thereby reducing their ability to cause disease. According to the researchers, the use of Wolbachia is the cheapest method in the effort to eradicate dengue, especially in urban areas - where other measures do not bring the desired effect.

Dr. Andrew Read and Dr. Matthew Thomas, two infectious disease experts at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), said that Australian scientists' findings are remarkable, but they need to overcome some obstacles. 'No one has been able to confirm that Wolbachia can attack all mosquitoes carrying dengue fever. In addition, Dengue virus can cope by shortening the incubation period , 'said two American scientists.