Chinese team links mosquito gut bacteria to disease-free zones, offering hope of biocontrol solution for dengue, Zika

‘Biocontrol method is based on findings from nature and does not require medical interventions for humans, such as vaccines and specific treatment’: scientist

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A team of Chinese scientists led by Cheng Gong (second from left) says it has identified a gut bacteria from mosquitoes that could prevent them from being infected by viruses, including dengue and Zika. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:00pm, 19 Apr 2024Updated: 3:31pm, 19 Apr 2024

A team of Chinese scientists has identified gut bacteria in mosquitoes that could prevent them being infected by viruses such as dengue and Zika, and ultimately blocking these pathogens from being transmitted to humans.

The researchers said the findings could offer a naturally occurring method to reduce mosquito-borne virus transmission and tackle the global public health concerns of virus outbreaks.

“This bacterium may be introduced into mosquito populations in dengue-endemic areas to reduce virus transmission,” the team from Beijing, Shenzhen, Kunming and Shiyan in China, as well as Connecticut in the United States, wrote in an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Science on Friday.

Dengue and Zika viruses are flaviviruses that can cause potentially fatal infections in humans bitten by infected mosquitoes.

From 2020, the researchers studied mosquitoes in southwestern China, where they collected specimens before adding bacterium to water where mosquito eggs were laid. They say the results offer the potential for a nature-based method to stop worldwide mosquito-borne diseases caused by flaviviruses. Photo: Handout

According to the World Health Organization, around 100 to 400 million dengue infections occur every year, with nearly 130 countries affected.