A promising bacterium-based strategy to control dengue transmission in mosquitoes

Mosquito-borne viral diseases are caused by viruses transmitted by various mosquito species, including dengue, chikungunya, Zika, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile fever. Among these diseases, dengue has become the fastest spreading, with reported cases increasing approximately 10-fold from 0.5 million in 2000 to 5.2 million in 2019.1 Due to the lack of effective vaccines and treatments, prevention efforts rely mainly on insecticide-based mosquito control. However, the rise of insecticide-resistant mosquitoes poses a major challenge to mosquito control efforts. Additionally, mosquito-borne diseases tend to exhibit seasonal patterns, with higher transmission rates during warmer, wetter months, when mosquito populations are more prevalent. Globalization and climate change have expanded the geographic range of mosquito habitats and altered disease transmission capabilities, complicating control efforts. Recently, gene-drive-based mosquito modifications have shown promise in lab settings for controlling pathogen transmission. However, before being deployed in the field, a comprehensive risk assessment is necessary to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these methods, considering the potential for unforeseen traits in genetically modified mosquitoes, unintended spread of the transgene across species, and unknown long-term environmental effects. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop effective mosquito control strategies.