It’s no secret that horrific afflictions are prevalent in poorer countries. There’s viruses, vectors and diseases aplenty. From Ebola to Malaria – these are problems plaguing the world over. And the symptoms are horrible indeed – we’re talking rampaging fevers, liquefied organs and death within 24 hours.
That’s why scientists are stepping up and taking aim at a possible solution. Mutant mosquitoes.
Their first target? Dengue fever.
If you haven’t heard about dengue fever yet, allow me to enlighten you. It is a virus transported by mosquitoes that causes fever, hemorrhagic bleeding and other side-effects – and is often life-threatening.
Just how horrible is it? Well, I was lucky enough to be able to interview someone who actually had dengue fever in his youth. Brian Brennan, who works for a textbook company, grew up in Panama.
And he got dengue fever in his youth. According to Brian,” I was in a horrible amount of pain, super feverish. I was in bed for a couple day -- then I went to the hospital. After that, I couldn’t remember anything for two weeks.”
Experiences like this are exactly why scientists are doing their best to combat these sort of outbreaks. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), 2.5 billion people, two fifths of the world's population, are now at risk from dengue. They consider the disease endemic in more than 100 countries.
The tactic scientists are using involves genetically modifying mosquitoes and then releasing them back out into the wild. This will be the first time they have ever tried such a thing – and it is an achievement possible only after years of careful study.
While critics believe this may turn out for the worse environmentally, the scientists are more positive.
"This test in the Cayman Islands could be a big step forward," said Andrew Read, a professor of biology and entomology at Pennsylvania State University, who was not involved in the project. "Anything that could selectively remove insects transmitting really nasty diseases would be very helpful," he said.
Erin Monda recently graduated from W.C.S.U. with a degree in professional writing. She primarily writes about network technologies, including cloud computing, virtualization and network optimization, however she also has a focus on E911 technologies and legislation.
Edited by
Erin Monda
