By avoiding the production of antibodies, something vaccines ordinarily induce, the immunization sidesteps the problem of antibody-dependent enhancement, which can amplify infection by a similar virus and is known to occur with dengue and Zika.
Although scientists debate the ethics of deliberately infecting volunteers with SARS-CoV-2, plenty of consenting participants have been exposed to all sorts of pathogens in prior trials.
Cases of dengue were greatly reduced in areas of a city where Wolbachia-infected mosquitos were released, according to preliminary data from a field study.
There have been no reports of health or environmental harm in other locations where genetically modified mosquitoes have been introduced over the last decade.
Through groundbreaking studies on dengue and efforts to build scientific infrastructure in Latin America, the University of California, Berkeley, professor has bridged research with its benefits to society.
There is no evidence that any of the coronavirus vaccines in development worsen a coronavirus infection rather than confer immunity to it, but the phenomenon is something scientists are closely monitoring.
Aedes aegypti infected with Wolbachia—which inhibit transmission of the dengue virus from insect to human—were deployed in Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, and Australia.
The biotech Oxitec had released the genetically engineered insects with the hope that they would breed with wild populations and produce offspring that die young. But that’s not always happening.
Researchers use two techniques—Wolbachia infection and irradiation—to suppress reproduction in populations of Asian tiger mosquitoes at two study sites in China.
Animal and cell culture studies show evidence that dengue antibodies can both neutralize and enhance Zika, but human investigations have only found protective effects.
