The yellowfever mosquito Aedes aegyptiWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CDC, JAMES GATHANY
The fungus Beauveria bassiana effectively kills Aedes aegypti, the mosquito responsible for carrying dengue, and sharply reduces the rate at which mosquitoes seek human targets, according to a study published earlier this month in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The results offer a potential alternative to pesticides to control the mosquito-borne viral disease.
“I think it’s encouraging. The experiments they did are consistent with the fact that [the fungus] could affect aegypti in ways that could prevent dengue transmission,” said Tom Scott of the University of California, Davis, who did not participate in the study.
Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes that infects between 50 and 100 million people annually, according to the World Health Organization. Current control mechanisms rely ...
