Disease-Fighting Mosquitoes

Scientists recently discovered a way to halt the spread of the mosquito-borne dengue virus, a disease that affects more than 390 million people each year and accounts for more than $40 million in economic losses globally.

Dengue is spread when a mosquito bites an infected organism and subsequently bites a human, transmitting the virus through the blood. But when female disease-carrying mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) were genetically modified with an antibody, the mosquitoes were unable to replicate the virus, effectively shutting down their ability to disseminate the disease.

In laboratory testing, the approach was shown to work on all four varieties of dengue fever. The team is already working on similar methods to combat other viruses, including Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya.