Ever since the health problems associated with dengue fever became public in the late 1990s, many nations have either implemented new programs for containing the virus or relied on existing ones. According to the World Health Organization, a new study has “confirmed that vector-control measures could be successfully used to halt the spread of dengue fever.”
The study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, focused on the phytophthora endemic dengue (POED), which is spread by the viremic parasite Aedes aegypti. The study shows that POED in mosquito populations could be effectively controlled, possibly by introducing a dengue variant that doesn’t carry the dengue virus, though both approaches appear to be used in many countries.
The WHO concluded that “three vector-control strategies with rich evidence, universally applied … are vector control; behavioural modification of mosquito populations; and use of antimicrobials used in mosquito control.”
According to the study, no one was killed during its six-year study, which included 106 countries from around the world. The study also showed that virtually all Aedes aegypti species infected the PHV34 and PHP33 aedes mosquitoes, the deadly viruses which pass from infected mosquitoes to humans.
Read the full story at The Guardian.
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