Wolbachia bacteriumWIKIMEDIA, SCOTT O’NEILLA bacterium known to prevent the spread of dengue and other viruses has now been shown to block transmission of Zika. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia bacteria were highly resistant to Zika virus infection, and were unable to transmit the virus via their saliva, researchers in Brazil reported in a study published today (May 4) in Cell Host & Microbe. The findings highlight a possible mechanism for fighting the current primary viral vector in the ongoing Zika outbreak.
“It’s an exciting and encouraging study,” said Stephen Dobson, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky who studies A. aegypti biology but was not involved with the work. “To my knowledge, this is first study showing interference of Wolbachia and Zika transmission,” Dobson told The Scientist.
The Wolbachia bacterium is naturally found in at least 40 percent of all insect species, and while it’s not normally present in A. aegypti mosquitoes, it can be introduced to them. The bacterium has been shown to block transmission of dengue and chikungunya viruses, as well as the malaria parasite Plasmodium. Wolbachia is not known to infect people.
“The idea is to replace the population of [non-Wolbachia–infected] mosquitoes in a determined area” with those carrying the bacterium, said study ...
