- “We are really hopeful this will lead to local elimination [of dengue] in Yogyakarta City, and the next stage is to scale up beyond Yogyakarta to other parts of Indonesia,” Director of Impact Assessment at the World Mosquito Program, Dr. Katie Anders, said.
- “By having bacteria there it might prevent the virus from growing, and or [the bacteria] might elicit an immune response in the mosquito that’s protective against the virus,” Anders speculated.
- The infected mosquitoes were released in a 13-square-kilometer (5-square-mile) area in the city.
- Although the mosquitoes were only released in one part of the city, health officials monitored the remaining part using disease control methods.
- In their research, scientists micro-injected the bacteria into the eggs and gradually distributed them into homes over six months.
- Global heating has reportedly contributed to the spread of the dengue virus, Anders said, and urbanization and high population density play a role because the mosquitoes like “to live in urban environments close to people.”
- Professor Adi Utarini from Universitas Gadjah Mada said the study showed “the significant impact the Wolbachia method can have in reducing dengue in urban populations.”
- The bacteria live inside the insect’s cell and can be passed down from one generation to another through eggs.
- Although they are found in mosquitoes, the bacteria don’t normally infect Aedes aegypti, a breed of mosquito known to be the carrier of several viruses, including dengue, zika and yellow fever.
- Scientists weren’t certain how the bacteria inhibit the transmission of dengue virus into humans, even though it never alters the infected mosquito’s behavior or affects their population.
- Wolbachia is reportedly safe for humans and the environment, according to the organization.
- After a successful initial trial in Australia, the research immediately moved to smaller trials in other parts of the world.
- The organization also applied the same method in parts of northern Queensland where Dengue has been eliminated as a public health concern. The area has no outbreak records for the past five years.