Sunday, February 28, 2016

Technology against the mosquito – Correio da Manhã

28/02/2016 11 : 00

Technology against the mosquito

infected have mild symptoms like low fever, headaches and skin irritation

             By João Ferreira, Suely Costa

Genetic manipulation can be the key to a way of fighting the virus Zika. Since 2014 a plant in Brazil produces genetically modified mosquitoes to control the mosquito population, freeing male modified in the laboratory that, to copulate with females – that bite humans – do with the contaminated eggs will eventually die before adulthood. This project has been possible to reduce the mosquito population by about 80%. The main reason for the Zika virus is the same mosquito that transmits dengue and yellow fever. Already infected millions in Latin America and is named as responsible for the increase in cases of microcephaly, which mainly affect Brazil. The alert is serious, “not by the number of deaths, which should be very small, but the consequences of pregnancy” says Jaime Nina, a specialist in Tropical Medicine. There is already a vaccine to be produced in the US, also based in science and technology, but only at the end of the year is that the first tests will be done in humans.


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