Work by Australian researchers to eliminate the viral disease dengue fever from an entire city — a first for scientists — has global implications that could reach into Africa, Asia and South America, an infectious disease expert says.
The use of mosquitoes carrying a naturally occurring bacteria to stop dengue will take time to adapt into the rest of the world but shows promise, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH.
[ MORE: Philippines officials say deaths of 3 children may be linked to a vaccine.]
“Any intervention that can either prevent the transmission of mosquito borne-diseases or decrease the relevant mosquito population could have an impact on global health.”
Researchers from Australia’s Monash University declared last week that Townsville, a city on the country’s northeast coast, to be free of dengue. Announcing the results of a test that began in 2014, the scientists said they used mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia, a bacteria that impedes the growth of dengue and other diseases in the insect. Wolbachia does not naturally infect Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that is the world’s major transmitter of dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever.
The Monash program enrolled about 7,000 families in Townsville, a city of about 185,000, to each host a tub of the Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti eggs in their yards and raise them to maturity, according to Science. Once mature, the 4 million Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes were released over a 66-square kilometer (25-square mile) region. Townsville has not reported a case of dengue in the past four years.
The Australian researchers’ work appears in Gates Open Research and has yet to undergo peer review. The researchers say their work offers hope to slow or even halt the spread of the Zika virus and malaria.
“Nothing we’ve got is slowing these diseases down — they are getting worse” Scott O’Neill, director of the World Mosquito Program, told The Guardian. “I think we’ve got something here that’s going to have a significant impact and I think this study is the first indication that it’s looking very promising.”
Applying the Australian scientists’ methods elsewhere will take time, Fauci says, adding that the challenge will be to find similar success over larger geographic areas. “Australia demonstrated that you can successfully do it in certain areas such as a township, (but) sometimes it can be difficult to scale it up over wide ranges of geographic territory.”
The success in Australia is leading to similar tests in Brazil, Colombia and in Florida, Fauci says. “I believe that as the time goes by it will be accepted in more and more places throughout the world.” The benefits to eliminate dengue in Africa, Asia and South America will outweigh any costs, Fauci adds.
Dengue fever is a tropical disease that the World Health Organization considers to be the most critical mosquito-borne viral disease in the world.
The World Mosquito Program considers more than 40 percent of the world’s population to be at risk of dengue infection. An estimated 390 million dengue infections occur annually, the program says, leading to half a million cases of a more severe form of the fever called hemorrhagic fever.
About 25,000 people die annually from dengue, and the occurrence is on the rise. Australian officials last year reported dengue fever cases hit a 20-year high in the country, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. In Thailand, officials there say nearly 38,000 cases were reported in the first seven months of this year, claiming 45 lives.
Mosquitoes that carry dengue fever can bite during the day and night both indoors and outdoors and often live around buildings in urban areas.
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Australia Research Fighting Dengue Offers Promise Elsewhere, Expert Says originally appeared on usnews.com
