Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Immune to Deadly Virus

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Scientists successfully changed the genetic makeup of mosquitoes to make them resistant to all strains of the dengue [DENG-gey] virus. Dengue, a viral disease that affects millions of people around the world yearly, is transmitted by female Aedes aegypti [ey-EE-deez ee-JIP-tahy] mosquitoes. The mosquitoes become carriers of the virus when they ingest the blood of an infected human. Symptoms of the virus include high fever, headache, and rashes. If left unchecked, dengue can lead to severe bleeding. A new study marks the first attempt to engineer and make mosquitoes immune to all four known strains of dengue. Past studies were only able to genetically alter mosquitoes resistant to a single strain. To conduct the study, scientists injected human antibodies into the mosquitoes. These antibodies help the human immune system destroy bacteria and viruses without any medical intervention. Scientists also injected a fluorescent gene into the mosquitoes to make the insects more distinct. Results showed that all of the genetically engineered mosquitoes were resistant to the dengue virus and were unable to spread it. The scientists explained that when the mosquitoes tasted dengue-infected blood, the antibodies neutralized the virus. As a result, the mosquitoes did not get infected, and this prevented them from spreading the virus. Omar Akbari, one of the scientists, said that the team is currently in the initial stages of testing the method on other mosquito-borne viruses like Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya [chi-kuhn-GOO-nyuh]. However, he said that the mosquitoes need to be further tested to help the scientists determine if they are safe enough to be released outside the lab.