Biological modification of mosquitoes in Colombia prevents transmission of dengue and other diseases

Dengue is becoming a severe problem in Latin America and the Caribbean, warned the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

However, thanks to the biological modification of the mosquitoes that transmit this disease, the World Mosquito Program is managing to reduce cases by leaps and bounds in some regions of the world.

After years of hard work, the World Mosquito Program reduced dengue cases by 95% in the Antioquia region of Colombia.

How? By breeding and later releasing mosquitoes born with the Wolbachia bacterium, which “prevents transmission” of this tropical endemic disease, which causes headaches, vomiting, and, in some cases, even death.

Despite these promising results, PAHO warns that Latin America and the Caribbean will experience their “worst dengue season” this year, with some 9.3 million cases and at least 4,500 deaths between January and June due to climate change, lack of water services, and overpopulation.

Nelson Grisales, responsible for this project in Medellín, explains that the first step to solving the problem is to raise awareness among governments:

When they begin to understand and accept biological control methods, particularly this one, which is a natural method without manipulation, governments will start to require them. That willingness to understand takes time for something revolutionary, but we are on the right track.

Another factor preventing the implementation of this prevention system is the lack of resources to adopt it in tropical and subtropical developing countries.

“We all know that the resources available for public health and diseases such as dengue, which are not necessarily very lethal, are neglected diseases,” said Morales, who assured that these nations do not have much budget to be able to control them.

For this reason, the specialist stressed the importance of “international cooperation and donors” to support government work and allocate or reallocate some resources.

THE RISK OF DISINFORMATION
Finally, the expert points to misinformation hindering program integration in some regions. For example, in September last year, a handful of people protested in front of his laboratory, arguing that Bill Gates, one of the project’s funders, releases chips through mosquitoes to control minds.

“information, at the moment, is a problem at the public health level: the anti-vaccine, anti-medicine, anti-medicine campaigns, in general terms, are huge and affect all countries,” he said. In his opinion, this generates a “mistaken understanding” of many factors, which can lead to disinformation campaigns with a mistaken narrative, however intuitive or normal they may be.

All these obstacles may delay the project’s implementation in some countries, but experts are convinced that the World Mosquito Program will soon become a public health measure. He assures that its mission will not end until dengue fever is eradicated.