Control biològic del dengue amb Wolbachia

Abstract

Dengue is one of the most significant infectious diseases caused by an arbovirus worldwide. The etiologic agent is the dengue virus and it is transmitted through the bite of the Aedes aegypti, or yellow fever mosquito. Infections can be asymptomatic or vary from mild symptomatology to potentially deadly cases known as severe dengue. The lack of any effective treatment and the development of a universal vaccine mean this disease has a huge sanitary, social and economic impact. Wolbachia is a bacteria that establishes an endosymbiotic relationship with arthropods and nematodes, causing reproductive alterations within them. Therefore, when Wolbachia infects Aedes aegypti, it has the capacity to increase the death rate of adult mosquitoes and reduce the replication of the dengue virus. The World Mosquito Program has now shown this biological method of controlling mosquito-transmitted diseases to be feasible, applicable over large territorial areas, and that it could reduce the threat of other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.