Infecting mosquitoes with a bacterial parasite could help prevent the spread of lymphatic filariasis, one of the major neglected tropical diseases of the developing world, according to research published today in the journal Science.
Lymphatic filariasis affects more than 120 million people worldwide – over 40 million of these are seriously incapacitated and disfigured by the disease. It is caused by infection with the parasitic filarial nematode, a threadlike worm that is spread by mosquitoes and occupies the lymphatic system. In chronic cases, infection leads to a condition known as elephantiasis, which can cause severe swelling in the legs, male scrotum and female breasts.
Filariasis - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment , FAQs
Filariasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods, mainly black flies and mosquitoes.
Filariasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods, mainly black flies and mosquitoes.
Now, researchers funded primarily by the Wellcome Trust have shown that as well as reducing the mosquito's lifespan, wMelPop directly inhibits transmission of the filarial nematode by encouraging the mosquito's immune system to attack the worm. They found that significantly reduced numbers of filarial nematodes developed in mosquitoes infected with wMelPop – in some cases, less than 15% of the number in mosquitoes which were not carrying wMelPop.
"Wolbachia infection appears to significantly increase the activity of around two hundred mosquito genes, many of which are involved in the immune response," says Dr Steven Sinkins, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. "This then primes the mosquito's immune system to fight infection by the filarial nematodes, preventing the worm from developing to a stage where transmission to humans is possible."
About Mosquito Diseases
Mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria, filaria, dengue, etc are common in places conducive of mosquito breeding. Swamps, ponds and stagnated drainage provide optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria, filaria, dengue, etc are common in places conducive of mosquito breeding. Swamps, ponds and stagnated drainage provide optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Dr Sinkins and colleagues are currently looking at whether infecting other species of mosquito, such as Anopheles gambiae – the mosquito responsible for the majority of malaria infections – with wMelPop will have a similar effect and help inhibit malaria transmission as well as filariasis transmission. Another potential target is the Aedes polynesiensis mosquito, which spreads lymphatic filariasis in the islands of Polynesia, where decades of mass drug administration have failed to eradicate the filarial parasites from the human population.
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Elephantiasis Could Be Wiped Out by 2020
Elephantiasis, the painful and disfiguring disease affecting more than 100 million people worldwide, could be wiped out by 2020.
Elephantiasis, the painful and disfiguring disease affecting more than 100 million people worldwide, could be wiped out by 2020.
Wolbachia have been shown in previous studies to be capable of spreading rapidly through insect populations. When a male carrying Wolbachia mates with a female that does not, the resulting eggs fail to develop. However, a female that is infected with Wolbachia can breed successfully with any male, and thus produces more offspring on average than Wolbachia-uninfected females.
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DNA Barcoding of Mosquito Species Deployed in Bid to End Elephantiasis
New biotechnologies distinguish species based on a simple DNA analysis are being creatively deployed for the first time in the war against a major global disease.
New biotechnologies distinguish species based on a simple DNA analysis are being creatively deployed for the first time in the war against a major global disease.
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