CURBING DISEASES
Australia deals big blow to fever-spreading mosquitoes in landmark trial
More than 80% of a dengue fever-spreading mosquito has been wiped out in an Australian town during a landmark trial that scientists say offers hope for combating the dangerous pest globally. Researchers from Australia’s national science body, CSIRO, bred millions of nonbiting male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in laboratory conditions at James Cook University in a project funded by Google parent company Alphabet. The insects were infected with the Wolbachia bacteria, which renders them sterile. They were then released into the wild at trial sites around the Queensland town of Innisfail, where over three months they mated with females that laid eggs that did not hatch, causing the population to plummet. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is one of the world’s most dangerous pests, capable of spreading devastating diseases like dengue, Zika and chikungunya. Millions infected It is responsible for infecting millions of people around the world each year and James Cook University’s Kyran Staunton sa...
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