Aussie scientists confident in stopping spread of Zika virus

Previous studies undertaken by the institute found the ability of a virus, in previous cases, dengue, to spread throughout the Wolbachia-infected insect’s tissues was “limited”.

Cameron Simmons from the University of Melbourne in Parkville, Australia, and Scott O’Neill, from Monash University in Clayton, Australia, are involved in these field trials.

While the Aedes aegypti lives in tropical and subtropical regions and is not present in Canada, another invasive species that lives as far north as New Jersey and southern NY state has been identified as a possible carrier of Zika, as well.

The second strain, called wAlbB, has similar characteristics in singly infected mosquitoes: it grows to relatively high densities in infected mosquitoes and does not diminish their fitness. This strain could also be useful in preventing the dengue virus from developing resistance to Wolbachia, “ABC News” reported.

“You have a lot of places where water can be stored and where mosquitoes can lay their eggs, making people living in slums vulnerable”, said Ana Carla Pecego, an infectious disease specialist in Rio de Janeiro.

There is now no vaccine or medication that protects against Zika virus infection. This has also been shown in the lab to reduce the replication of dengue in mosquitoes. Hunter, who last month shifted the focus of her lab’s work from West Nile to Zika virus as the severity of the outbreak became clear.

“The big issue here is does the virus replicate inside the female mosquito, does it then travel throughout her body and eventually get to the salivary glands so that when she spits into her next blood-meal host, is she transmitting virus?”

“When you have a lot of people living together in one small place it makes is easier for the Zika virus to spread and for mosquitoes to bite many people in a small space”, Pecego said.

Testing the effectiveness of the Wolbachia is expected to take part in Latin America, Indonesia and Vietnam early next year, and Simmons said he expects the Wolbachia to perform similarly to how it does against dengue.

However, the virus has been potentially linked in Brazil to more than 4,400 cases of abnormally small heads in infants born to women who may have been infected while pregnant, as well as cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological condition that can cause muscle weakness or even partial paralysis. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes).