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Fight dengue with mozzies carrying Wolbachia, say experts

SINGAPORE — A panel of experts has recommended that Singapore conduct studies involving the release of male Aedes mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria into the field, to combat the dengue problem.

SINGAPORE — A panel of experts has recommended that Singapore conduct studies involving the release of male Aedes mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria into the field, to combat the dengue problem.

The aim is to get these Wolbachia-carrying males to mate with female Aedes mosquitoes, causing them to produce eggs that do not hatch and, ultimately, clamp down on the Aedes population and dengue transmission.

In June, the NEA appointed experts from Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to form a Dengue Expert Advisory Panel, to look into the use of biological control methods to limit the spread of dengue.

While the use of the bacteria has been tested in the laboratory by the NEA’s Environmental Health Institute, it has not been tested in the field. The NEA stated yesterday that the panel concluded that the proposed approach holds promise, and field trials are needed to prove its feasibility and effectiveness.

“Wolbachia-carrying Aedes has been released in several places, such as Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam, with no negative impact on public health and ecology. This is consistent with our knowledge and assessment. Wolbachia provides a safe strategy, because the bacteria are naturally present in a large fraction of insects,” said Professor Ary Hoffmann, an expert on Wolbachia-insect interaction from the University of Melbourne in Australia. Male mosquitoes also do not bite or transmit disease.

The NEA said it would review the recommendations and continue working with experts and stakeholders to develop the framework for the safe and effective adoption of Wolbachia technology. It also noted that the panel said the implementation of new tools should not preclude continuation of the ongoing surveillance and mosquito control efforts.

Professor Duane Gubler, chairman of the Dengue Expert Advisory Panel, and founding director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Program at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, added: “The approach with Wolbachia-carrying Aedes males will likely be most effective when used in combination with other methods of control such as the current community-based removal of potential breeding habitats and a vaccine when available.”

Singapore is in the middle of a dengue epidemic, with 16,263 dengue cases this year so far. More than 22,000 cases were reported last year.

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