Mosquitoes for Mosquitoes – A Dengue Control Tactic

Dengue fever has now-a-days become a major public health concern in

Pakistan as well as all over the world. Recognized in late 18 th century as

causing epidemics in tropical and sub tropical regions of the world

predominantly in urban and semi urban areas, this fever is claiming

precious lives all over the world. According to World Health Organization

(WHO), about 2.5 billion people are at risk of Dengue infection. Oxford

University experts estimate 20 million people to die of dengue annually.

Researches indicated that the causal organism for dengue is an RNA

(Ribonucleic Acid) virus belonging to Flavi group of viruses. This virus

exists naturally in 4 different serotypes; DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and

DEN-4. The virus manifests its infection from influenza like disease

(Common Dengue fever) to Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) or

Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS). Both DHF and DSS are the real cause

of mortality among the humans.

The transmission of this virus takes place through the bite of the

specific genus of mosquitoes; Aedes spp. Two important species serving

as a vector for dengue are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. This

genus belongs to family Culicidae of order Diptera in the Animal

kingdom. Its relatives – the Anopheles spp. are responsible for the spread

of malarial infection. In Pakistan A.albopictus has been reported from

different regions as a dominant species for carrying the dengue virus.

Actually the infected humans are the multiplying factory of the dengue

virus. The female mosquitoes feed on human blood. The human blood

provides the female mosquitoes of the specific proteins for egg lying.

When a female mosquito bites a person it first injects her saliva. The

saliva of the mosquito is anticoagulant which temporarily prevents the

activity of natural blood clotting proteins in the human blood so that

during feeding the blood may not clot. The mosquito in this way when

sucks the blood of an infected person through her proboscis it acquires

the dengue virus along with the blood of the patient. In the body of

mosquito the virus resides for an incubation period of 8-10 days. After 8-

10 days the infected mosquito becomes a ready vector and can transfer

the virus to a healthy person. When a healthy person is bitten the virus is

transmitted to the healthy person through the injected saliva for

anticoagulation. Once transferred the virus circulates the human blood

stream for 2-7 days multiplies in the meantime and then first symptoms

of dengue fever appear.

To combat this viral infection, at present inspite of vast research no

successful vaccine has been produced or discovered. Contracting one

form of this virus can provide lifelong immunity against that serotype,

but not from other serotypes. Taking this into account, scientists are hard

at work trying to develop vaccines against all four strains of the Dengue
virus. At present, the only method of controlling or preventing the spread

of dengue virus is to combat the vector mosquitoes. Genetics has

permeated almost every sector of scientific research today. In this case

too, genetic manipulation of the vector mosquitoes is the most highly

sought objective of the scientists to solve the menace of dengue fever.

Exterminating the mosquito vector is the preferred approach to

controlling dengue according to those promoting genetic modification of

mosquitoes. The Stanford Business School proposed that releasing

genetically modified (transgenic) male mosquitoes could eliminate

dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases within a year in

communities of up to a million people. Others have sought to find ways

to sterilise entire mosquito populations. The induction of sterility among

the males of target insect population is known as Sterile Insect Technique

(SIT). Sterile insect technique has been successfully used against

Screworm fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax and Mediterranean fruit fly,

Ceratitis capitata in the past. The SIT involves the release of millions of

sterile males into the wild populations of target insect. The sterile males

compete and replace the wild males and mate with the females producing

no offsprings. Hence the target population is effectively erradicated from

the target locality. The sterility is usually induced through irradiation

exposure to the male insects. However the amount of irradiations used to

induce sterility in the male mosquitoes kill them. To cope with this
problem the scientists working in Oxitec, U.K. developed a twist in the

sterile insect technique. The technique employed is called “Released

Insects with a Dominant Lethal” (RIDL), a variant of SIT. Scientists

working at Oxitec have developed genetically modified mosquitoes that

would not necessarily replace a generation of Dengue mosquitoes, but

instead reproduce male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that are programmed

for sudden, early death after mating with naturally occurring females.  In 

other   words   it   involves   releasing   transgenic   male  Aedes  mosquitoes 

carrying a ‘killer' gene to mate with wild female mosquitoes, which then 

causes   the   progeny   to   die. The dominant lethal male mosquitoes

developed for RIDL are more sexually attractive to female mosquitoes for

mating. The mating results in the transfer of the lethal gene to the females

which transfer that gene to the eggs. The female mosquito lays eggs in

water. The eggs hatch normally in the water. At the larvae (young

mosquitoes) stage the dominant lethal gene springs in to action and

releases a specific protein within the insect body which causes the

mortality of young mosquitoes. Hence the mosquitoes are not allowed to

reach at the adult stage hence their mating is avoided and we can in this

way completely manage a population of Aedes mosquitoes from the target

area. However this research is still not tested at mass level and there are

certain environmental issues involved. However if successful this

technique can help to wipe the menace of dengue fever completely from

the face of the earth.

Syed Muneeb Shahid

M.Sc. (Hons). Entomology

The Writer is a student of Entomology at Pir Mehr Ali Shah – Arid

Agriculture University, Rawalpindi