MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian scientists launch mosquito factory to fight dengue

Scientists breed Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia strains, resulting in a kind less able to spread diseases to humans after mating with the regular population

Brazilian researchers launched the world's largest mosquito biofactory to target the kind that spreads dengue fever and other maladies. The Paraná Institute of Molecular Biology (IBMP) and the World Mosquito Program (WMP) inaugurated Wolbito do Brasil in breeding Aedes aegypti mosquitoes inoculated with Wolbachia bacteria, which prevents the development of viruses that cause diseases.

The biofactory said in a statement that it can produce 100 million mosquito eggs per week. Initially, the facility will serve only the Health Ministry, which selects municipalities for implementing the Wolbachia method “based on maps showing the incidence of arboviruses transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.”

The method, which aims to drastically reduce transmission and treatment costs for these diseases, has been tested in Brazil since 2014, when releases began in neighborhoods of cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The biofactory emphasized that the method does not involve genetically modified mosquitoes and is meant to complement other control strategies. It insisted that the population still needs to eliminate mosquito breeding sites.

The Paraná Institute of Molecular Biology, a partner in the biofactory, was established through an agreement between the Paraná Institute of Technology (Tecpar), affiliated with the State's government, and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz).

Health Minister Alexandre Padilha, who attended the inauguration, stated that the biofactory positions Brazil as a global leader in this technology.

Present in 14 countries, the method involves releasing mosquitoes inoculated with Wolbachia into the environment, where they mate with the local Aedes aegypti population and produce offspring that also carry the bacteria—making them less likely to transmit dengue, chikungunya, or Zika to humans.

Wolbachia is a genus of bacteria estimated to be present in more than half of the world’s insect species. Since the early 2010s, scientists have successfully bred Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia strains that do not naturally occur in this species.

In Aedes mosquitoes, these bacteria have been shown to prevent the multiplication of various arboviruses transmissible to humans, while also giving infected mosquitoes a reproductive advantage over uninfected populations.

According to Fiocruz, it is expected that for every R$1 invested, the Brazilian government will save between R$43.45 and R$549.13 in medication, hospitalizations, and overall treatment costs. (Source: Agencia Brasil)