Mosquito News and Research

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Injecting mosquitoes with bacterium shows potential for dengue elimination, scientists report

Injecting mosquitoes with the Wolbachia bacterium "can block them from transmitting the dengue virus and help control the spread of a disease that kills 20,000 annually in more than 100 countries," a team led by Scott O'Neill, a geneticist at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, reports in two papers published in Nature on Thursday, Reuters reports.

26 Aug 2011

Malaria mosquito has disappeared from villages without organized control measures

The incidence of malaria in many African countries south of the Sahara is falling rapidly. A Danish-Tanzanian research group has discovered that the mosquito carrying the malaria parasite has practically disappeared from villages without organized mosquito control, and the researchers do not know why.

26 Aug 2011

Dengue fever mosquito trial successful

Researchers have stopped mosquitoes from spreading the dengue virus by infecting it with bacteria from flies that commonly live in kitchen fruit bowls. The two papers showed how the fruit-fly bacteria was established in wild mosquito populations, offering a practical and inexpensive way to stop transmission of dengue fever which affects 50 million people annually.

25 Aug 2011

New way to combat dengue fever

The spread of Dengue fever in northern Australia may be controlled by a bacterium that infects mosquitoes that harbor the virus, Australian and U.S. researchers report Aug. 25 in two papers published in the journal Nature.

25 Aug 2011

Wolbachia infection invades Aedes aegypti mosquito, blocks dengue transmission

Strains of a bacterium commonly found in fruit flies can prevent the Aedes aegypti mosquito from transmitting the virus that causes dengue fever, researchers have found.

25 Aug 2011

Gains against malaria recognized on World Mosquito Day

Sarah Kline, executive director of Malaria No More UK, writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog" about World Mosquito Day, which is recognized annually on August 20 to commemorate the discovery 114 years ago that female mosquitoes transmit malaria among humans.

23 Aug 2011

Mosquitoes fast to develop resistance against insecticide-treated bed nets

According to a study from Senegal mosquitoes are quick to develop resistance to insecticide-treated nets. This has raised concerns that a leading method of preventing the disease may be less effective than previously thought.

18 Aug 2011

Washington Post examines history, future of mosquito control efforts

The Washington Post looks at the history and future of disease-carrying mosquitoes, "the most deadly non-human animal on the planet." The newspaper describes several mosquito-control methods, and poses the question, "If scientists could find a way to wipe out all mosquitoes - recent studies have shown that it may be possible to chemically sterilize males and dupe the females into mating with them - would that be a good idea?".

17 Aug 2011

Bird malaria in Britain worries experts

British birds are being increasingly detected with malaria. Two decades back few British species showed regular signs of infection but now some 30 types are infected, monitoring projects have found. The problem is linked to a rapid growth in mosquito populations, which is attributed to a rise of about 1 degrees centigrade in global average temperature, say experts.

15 Aug 2011

Ecological research on disease prevention and human biome

Public awareness about the role and interaction of microbes is essential for promoting human and environmental health, say scientists presenting research at the Ecological Society of America's (ESA) 96th Annual Meeting from August 7-12, 2011.

12 Aug 2011

DYCAST software predicts spread of mosquito-borne West Nile virus in California counties

A computerized epidemiological model of the spread of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus in 17 counties of California in 2005 successfully predicted where 81.6 percent of human cases of the disease would arise and defined high-risk areas where the risk of infection turned out to be 39 times higher than in low-risk areas, according to newly published research.

12 Aug 2011

Spermless mosquitoes could reduce spread of malaria, study suggests

In an effort to curb the spread of malaria, researchers from Britain and Italy have genetically altered male mosquitoes so that they do not produce sperm, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog reports.

10 Aug 2011

New study focuses on Anopheles gambiae to prevent spread of malaria

A female mosquito cannot tell if the male that she has mated with is fertile or 'spermless' and unable to fertilise her eggs, according to a new study from scientists at Imperial College London.

9 Aug 2011

Genetically altered spermless ‘mozzies’ to combat malaria

In a fresh new attempt to combat malaria, researchers have developed another way to reduce the numbers of the malaria-spreading blood-suckers: introduce genetically altered spermless males into the population.

8 Aug 2011

Tips to minimize risk of bug bites and related illnesses

While the image of a bug crawling on your arm or a creepy crawler snuggling up in your bed is enough to make you flinch, most bug bites are harmless and disappear on their own in a matter of days. Other insects, however, can spread disease and cause severe reactions that require medical attention.

4 Aug 2011

Malaria No More, NASCAR champion partner to end mortality

NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion and driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford in the Sprint Cup Series, Carl Edwards is partnering with nonprofit organization Malaria No More to join the race to end malaria deaths.

30 Jul 2011

Tips to make family vacations less hazardous for kids and parents

Family vacations live in infamy. Sometimes it's for the lasting memories of family bonding and new wonders experienced together, and sometimes for the horrors of just trying to get to a destination.

29 Jul 2011

Combination strategies more effective for reducing population of tiger mosquitos

An experimental research carried out in Sant Cugat del Vall-s and Rub-, coordinated by researchers from UAB, assessed the efficacy of a combination of strategies to reduce the population of tiger mosquitos.

25 Jul 2011

Tel Aviv University researcher tracks clinical cases of West Nile Virus

Since 1999, several outbreaks of West Nile Virus, which causes fever or severe neurological symptoms and is transmitted from birds to humans by blood-sucking mosquitoes, have been seen in the U.S., usually during the summer months. But researchers aren't certain how the virus migrated here - and they don't know how, or where, it will appear next.

25 Jul 2011

Nearly 720,000 children are at risk of death across the Horn of Africa

With famine now declared in two regions of Southern Somalia and malnutrition rates at emergency levels in arid and semi-arid regions across the Horn of Africa, nearly 720,000 children are at risk of death without urgent assistance.

25 Jul 2011