2023-07-05 15:38:36
A large mosquito farm is currently under construction in Brazil to combat arboviruses such as dengue, zika and chikungunya. The cost of construction and operation is estimated at 19 million US dollars. The cost of building and running the biofactory is estimated at US$19 million, with the World Mosquito Program and the Institute of Molecular Biology of Paraná each bearing half.
Up to 100 million mosquito eggs are bred weekly in the factory. The hatched mosquitoes become infected with the bacterium Wolbachia infected and released in towns and villages across the country.
76
percent there have been fewer dengue cases in Niterói since the Wolbachia mosquitoes were introduced.
If these mate with disease-carrying mosquitoes in the wild, no adult mosquitoes can hatch from the eggs. This reduces the population of disease-carrying mosquitoes. The Wolbachia mosquito reduced dengue cases by 76 percent, chikungunya cases by 56 percent and Zika cases by 37 percent in the Brazilian city of Niterói, according to the World Mosquito Program.
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Another advantage of the Wolbachia method is that it is safe for people and the environment. Wolbachia bacteria occur naturally in many insects and studies have shown that they are not harmful to humans, animals or the ecosystem.
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