Indonesia bred 'good' mosquitoes against dengue fever

Wolbachia is a common bacterium that occurs in up to 60% of insect species, including some species of mosquitoes, fruit flies, moths, and dragonflies. However, Wolbachia was not found in the Aedes aegypti mosquito , also known as the midges mosquito , which carries the dengue virus.

Wolbachia mosquito eggs in an incubator in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. (Photo: Reuters).

'We are breeding "good" mosquitoes. Mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus will mate with Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes. This will create the Wolbachia mosquito, a 'good' mosquito. So even if they bite people, it won't have any effect ," said Purwanti, a researcher at the nonprofit World Mosquito Program (WMP).

Since 2017, a joint study conducted by WMP at Australia's Monash University and Indonesia's Gadjah Mada University has released laboratory-bred Wolbachia mosquitoes into several dengue 'hot spots' in Vietnam. Yogyakarta city, Indonesia.

Trial results published by the New England Journal of Medicine in June showed that deploying Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes reduced dengue cases by 77% and hospital admissions by 86%.

"We have confidence in this technology, especially in areas where the Aedes aegypti mosquito is the most pathogenic ," Adi Utarini, WMP's lead researcher, told Reuters.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of dengue fever cases globally has increased rapidly in recent decades, with about 50% of the world's population at risk. It is estimated that every year the world records about 100-400 million cases of dengue fever.

'All three of my children had dengue fever and had to be hospitalized. I'm looking for ways to keep my place clean , ' said Sri Purwaningsih, 62, who volunteered for the WMP program.