World’s largest mosquito factory to protect millions from deadly ‘break-bone fever’

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Brazil has unveiled the world’s largest biofactory dedicated to breeding mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria, an innovative method poised to safeguard an estimated 140 million people from dengue fever across the nation in the coming years.

The Wolbito do Brasil plant, located in Curitiba, commenced operations on 19 July.

Backed exclusively by Brazil’s health ministry, this joint venture between the World Mosquito Program, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, and the Institute of Molecular Biology of Parana boasts a weekly production capacity of 100 million mosquito eggs.

Luciano Moreira, the company’s chief executive, stated that “Wolbito do Brasil will be able to protect around 7 million people in Brazil every six months.”

Dengue, often dubbed ‘break-bone fever’ due to its debilitating pain, is transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, infecting hundreds of millions globally each year.

The disease proved fatal for 6,297 individuals in Brazil last year, marking the worst year on record, according to World Health Organisation data.

Dengue, colloquially known as break-bone fever for the debilitating pain it can cause, is spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that infect hundreds of millions of people each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)

The Wolbachia bacteria work by preventing mosquitoes from transmitting dengue, as well as other serious illnesses such as Zika and Chikungunya.

So public health officials release laboratory-bred mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia to breed with local mosquito populations and pass on the bacteria blocking virus transmission.

The method has already protected more than 5 million people across eight Brazilian cities since 2014, according to Brazil’s ministry of health.

“Wolbachia only lives inside insect cells. So, if an insect dies, it dies too,” said Wolbito do Brasil production manager Antonio Brandao, saying he regards it as a safe method.

“Wolbachia is present in more than 60 per cent of insects in nature and (…) for centuries we never had any interactions with humans.”

As Wolbito do Brasil ramps up, cars laden with infected mosquitoes will pass through dengue hotspots and release the insects with the push of a button.

“The area chosen within the municipality is based on dengue cases, so the neighborhoods with the highest incidence of people contracting dengue are the priority neighborhoods,” said Wolbito do Brasil regional operations coordinator Tamila Kleine.

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