Genetically Modified Mosquitoes for Malaria Control (Medical Intelligence Unit)
Dr. Jaime Montoya, executive director of the Philippine Council for Health, Research, and Development - an advisory council of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) - said they are now seriously studying the possible use of the conventional Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) to eventually neutralize the increase in the number of dengue cases.
Dengue virus 3 genotype I in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and eggs, Brazil, 2005-2006.(DISPATCHES): An article from: Emerging Infectious Diseases
By SIT, the genes of a male Aedes aegypti mosquito are modified and they are rendered sterile. The mosquito species, A. aegypti, is the primary vector for the virus that causes dengue fever. Scientists intend to use the SIT process, which had been introduced in Malaysia, to breed sterile male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and eventually release them to mate with wild females of their kind. Their offspring contain lethal genes that kill them young, before they can reproduce. Scientists believe that through of the process, the population of dengue-carrying mosquitoes would eventually be decimated. The process was brought about by a research done by a team of researchers from an Oxford-based firm Oxitec, purposely to address the worsening problem of dengue. "We are presently meeting already with the experts. In fact last week, we already had a meeting with who entomologists who are working on the mosquito in this country to address some of this problems," Montoya said. We are already communicating with the scientists in Malaysia. In fact, I was there last week. So we're just going to have a follow through on this," he added.
While exploring the possibility of breeding the genetically engineered mosquitoes, Montoya said, the government is also looking at other means of addressing dengue and other problems related to it. "I think we really have to adopt a multiple-pronged approach and that's the agreement between our department and the department of health. But we are also looking on other ways of addressing the problem," he said.
He, however, ruled out that possibility of the government using DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) pesticide to control the spread of dengue. DDT is one of the most well-known synthetic pesticides, the use of which was banned in the US after it was discovered that it can cause cancer and threaten wildlife, particularly bird. It was used with great success in the second half of World War II to control malaria and typhus among civilians and troops.
