Detecting how Zika virus causes small head disease

Wolbachia used to fight dengue fever has been proven by Brazil's scientific community to prevent mosquitoes from spreading the Zika virus.

" Wolbachia shows that Zika is as effective as dengue," said researcher Luciano Moreira from Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. This conclusion gives hope in the battle against the small-headed Zika virus that is raging in Central - South America, the Caribbean and parts of North America.

In Vietnam, Wolbachia infected mosquitoes were released at Tri Nguyen Island, Khanh Hoa.(Photo: Reuters).

According to Reuters, the scientific team of Oswaldo Cruz Foundation injected two strains of Zika in Brazil into normal midges and mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia . As a result, after 2 weeks, the amount of virus in the body and the saliva of Wolbachia is significantly reduced, making them less likely to transmit the disease to humans. In addition, the team injected Wolbachia into mosquito eggs to spread to the next generation. "The idea is to release mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia for several months so they mate with other mosquitoes and replace mosquito populations , " Moreira explained.

Dr Jason Rasgon, an entomologist at Penn State University (USA), said previous studies that suspected Wolbachia prevented the transmission of a pathogen but stimulated other pathogens to thrive. Research by Brazilian scientists proves that this is unlikely. However, Moreira warns that the strategy to prevent dengue and Zika by Wolbachia cannot be 100% effective, so it should be combined with many other measures.

In Vietnam, Wolbachia infected mosquitoes have been released in Tri Nguyen Island, Khanh Hoa Province since April 2013 to reduce the spread of Dengue virus causing dengue fever.

Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterium that exists naturally in more than 70% of the earth's insects (butterflies, chaferes, ants, spiders .). Many scientific research results have shown that Wolbachia infected mosquitoes can inhibit the ability of Dengue virus to develop dengue fever in mosquitoes, thereby reducing the risk of spreading dengue fever in the community. . If the new mosquito population completely replaces the population of mosquitoes in the wild, it will significantly reduce the risk of spreading dengue fever.