The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and the World Mosquito Program (WMP) announced, this Thursday (3/30), a technological partnership to increase the production of anti-dengue mosquitoes in Brazil.
The method consists of inoculating a bacteria called Wolbachia into mosquitoes. The microorganism is capable of blocking the dengue virus, preventing transmission of the disease.
Wolbachia also makes the lifecycle of the aedes aegypti shorter and the mosquitoes pass the bacteria on when they reproduce, neutralizing the ability to transmit dengue to subsequent generations. Furthermore, Wolbachia does not harm humans.
Fiocruz researcher Luciano Moreira says that the biofactory will produce up to five billion eggs with Wolbachia per year. “The construction site is still being defined in line with the Ministry of Health, but the forecast is that it can start operating by the beginning of 2024”, he highlighted.
The dengue control program with modified mosquitoes is present in 12 countries in Asia, Oceania and the Americas. In Brazil, the idea is to implement the method in cities with the highest rate of dengue cases.
This is a medium-term strategy, since the result after the release of mosquitoes with Wolbachia is not immediate. However, the method is expected to protect more than 70 million people in 10 years.
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