While Dengue fever cases are soaring all over Latin America, in the Colombian city of Medellín the World Mosquito Program breeds mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia, a bacterium that prevents the insect from transmitting the virus.

Medellín

In the Colombian city of Medellín, an innovative approach to combat the increasing cases of Dengue fever across Latin America is being implemented by the World Mosquito Program. This initiative focuses on breeding mosquitoes that carry a specific bacterium known as Wolbachia. The presence of Wolbachia in these mosquitoes impedes their ability to transmit the Dengue virus, thus acting as a biological control measure to reduce the spread of the disease.

The strategy employed in Medellín represents a significant shift towards using biological methods to tackle viral infections transmitted by mosquitoes. Through the introduction of these Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes into the environment, the program aims to establish a sustainable method of reducing Dengue fever incidents without relying on chemicals or traditional disease control tactics. This effort reflects a broader attempt to address public health concerns through innovative biological solutions.




The mosquitoes that are saving lives

The species Aedes aegypti is a transmitter of dengue fever, Zika and chikungunya, but these ones have been inoculated with Wolbachia bacteria to stop the spread. They are bred in Medellin Colombia and sent to other countries. The methodology we are implementing is based on territorial protection. That means that if the mosquitoes are in that environment, their children, their grandchildren or all subsequent generations won't have a high capacity to transmit the virus, then all people at that moment in that territory are protected. In 2016, mosquitoes like these were released in Medellin and other nearby municipalities as part of a pilot project. We simply take the bacteria from the common fruit fly and put it into the yellow fever mosquito without any additional manipulation. There is absolutely no genetic manipulation. We do not manipulate the genome of either the bacteria or the mosquitoes. Several local researchers have participated in the project to inoculate these mosquitoes with Wolbachia, a bacterium commonly present in many other insects such as the Drosophila fly. When the mosquito absorbs blood containing the virus, the virus starts to compete inside its intestine with Wolbachia for food such as cholesterols and other nutrients. So the virus cannot reproduce in the guts of the fly and go back to its salivary gland. As a result of this, the mosquito cannot transmit the virus. This region used to suffer hyper-epidemic cycles of dengue every five years. In 2016, Medellin had more than 16,000 cases, whereas in recent years this number hasn't reached 400. Mathematical modelling showed that if Wolbachia is present in more than 50 percent of the mosquito population, the decrease in the incidence of dengue fever is more than 90 percent. We could confirm this in the cities of Medellin, Bello and Itahui. At the beginning of the pilot project in Medellin, adult mosquitoes were released, but now they are producing a capsule with 400 mosquito eggs with Wolbachia and enough food for them to grow. The project is being scaled up to other cities in the country, as Colombia is currently experiencing an increase in dengue fever cases. In the last two years we've had an increase in dengue fever cases, being now well above the average we've had before. This is due to climatic forces and an increase in transmission because of the proliferation of mosquitoes and the higher exposure to them. However, some experts consider that mosquitoes with Wolbachia are not the best alternative when it comes to dealing with a dengue emergency. The mosquito eggs bred on this biofarm will be sent to El Salvador and Nicaragua to prevent future outbreaks of the virus in those countries.

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