Scientists Genetically Engineer 'Dead End' Mosquitos to Fight Dengue

The website Healthline reports that scientists at a UK biotech firm have engineered flightless female and sterile male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that either cannot reproduce or whose offspring die before reaching maturity. Over time, the result would be a declining mosquito population which likely would reduce the number of cases of mosquito borne diseases like Dengue.

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/tech-ox...itoes-dengue-fever-032213

Eight cases of Dengue Fever found in Florida, USA.

"Dengue fever is passed from person to person by mosquitoes. Unlike malaria, there are no drugs to prevent it. It also is difficult to treat and thus far, attempts to develop a vaccine have been unsuccessful.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/health/florida-dengue/index.html

Multiple reports from around the globe, lastly South America, summing to a bad year, worldwide, and high numbers of dengue related fatalities. This is a map of the 2013 known incidences: http://www.healthmap.org/dengue/ (the site allows playing with parms, diseases and regions to show... not for the NIMBY inclined)

Target for treating dengue fever discovered

More than 40 percent of people around the world are at risk of being bitten by mosquitoes infected with the virus that cause Dengue fever and more than 100 million people are infected.

This new work from Jeffrey S. Kieft, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine explains how flaviviruses produce a unique RNA molecule that leads to disease.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140417191740.htm

Thanks for this streaming Jim