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Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

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Re: Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

#31

Post by sohkamyung »

e63f67dd-065b wrote: post #17

This is great news. Dengue was a constant problem in my home country of Malaysia, and remains a problem to this day. I still remember all the public education campaigns about it that I saw when I was young (random ads on TV about making sure there's no stagnant water, seeking medical help if you notice , etc), I'm very glad that there are easily implementable solutions to these problems. As a side note, I wonder why…

Here are some links to research on using Wolbachia in Malaysia and Singapore:

[1] Wolbachia Malaysia [ https://imr.nih.gov.my/wolbachia/ ]

[2] Singapore NEA Wolbachia info [ https://www.nea.gov.sg/corporate-functions/resources/researc... ]

[3] A 2021 news article on Wolbachia in Malaysia [ https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-fight-dengue-m... ]

Re: Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

#32

Post by toast0 »

dan-robertson wrote: post #29
vGPU wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t help but feel like I’ve heard this before.

How often do you hear about the downsides of malaria eradication in the United States (probably spraying most of Florida with DDT would be one…)? What about screwworm fly elimination in the United States and parts of Central America? That program is much more similar to the thing described in this article than spraying every puddle with insecticide.

Afaik, DDT continues to be accepted for malarial mosquito control; DDT as an agricultural pesticide is what got a worldwide ban.

Re: Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

#33

Post by [deleted] »

somenameforme wrote: post #11

I find these sort of things somewhat odd. Dengue is extremely unpleasant, but as the article mentions it has a 99.98% survival rate in spite of being predominantly spread in some of the most impoverished areas in the world. Wiki [1] gives even better figures than the article which yield a 99.99% survival rate, and a total hospitalization rate of 0.13%. Unforeseen consequences are a thing, and nature can evolve in dif…

[deleted]

Re: Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

#34

Post by c_o_n_v_e_x »

somenameforme wrote: post #11

I find these sort of things somewhat odd. Dengue is extremely unpleasant, but as the article mentions it has a 99.98% survival rate in spite of being predominantly spread in some of the most impoverished areas in the world. Wiki [1] gives even better figures than the article which yield a 99.99% survival rate, and a total hospitalization rate of 0.13%. Unforeseen consequences are a thing, and nature can evolve in dif…

Presumably, the 99% survival rate is for the first infection. Follow on infections of dengue are increasingly dangerous.

Re: Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

#35

Post by Izkata »

somenameforme wrote: post #11

I find these sort of things somewhat odd. Dengue is extremely unpleasant, but as the article mentions it has a 99.98% survival rate in spite of being predominantly spread in some of the most impoverished areas in the world. Wiki [1] gives even better figures than the article which yield a 99.99% survival rate, and a total hospitalization rate of 0.13%. Unforeseen consequences are a thing, and nature can evolve in dif…

Dengue is the poster child for antibody dependent enhancement: The first infection is typically pretty mild, but there's 4 Dengue strains and a second infection with one of the other 3 is much more severe.

The original vaccines for these had to be scrapped because they had the same effect, though current ones work against all 4 strains.

Re: Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

#36

Post by notsure2 »

gnicholas wrote: post #14

Los Angeles is doing something similar with fruit flies. [1] They're releasing infertile males, in the hopes that they outcompete males of a non-native species that could threaten the agricultural industry. 1: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/millions-of-steril...

Now how does that work? Surely it would make any sperm more likely to win.

Re: Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

#37

Post by gnicholas »

notsure2 wrote: post #36
gnicholas wrote: post #14

Los Angeles is doing something similar with fruit flies. [1] They're releasing infertile males, in the hopes that they outcompete males of a non-native species that could threaten the agricultural industry. 1: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/millions-of-steril...

Now how does that work? Surely it would make any sperm more likely to win.

> When these males mate with females, the resulting eggs are infertile and so small that they don’t affect crops.

Re: Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

#38

Post by lisper »

smt88 wrote: post #23
gehwartzen wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

long life riddled with parasites or somewhat shorter life sans parasites. I feel like they would be cool with it

Mosquitoes aren't affected by dengue. It's a human disease. Even if they were affected by it, they don't feel pain or have emotions, so they'd "choose" to live longer.

They would choose to live longer in the same sense that water chooses to flow downhill.

Re: Dengue rates plunged after release of lab-altered mosquitoes

#40

Post by Smoosh »

smt88 wrote: post #23
gehwartzen wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

long life riddled with parasites or somewhat shorter life sans parasites. I feel like they would be cool with it

Mosquitoes aren't affected by dengue. It's a human disease. Even if they were affected by it, they don't feel pain or have emotions, so they'd "choose" to live longer.

> they don't feel pain

Really?

> We found “strong evidence” for pain experiences in adults of two orders, Diptera (flies and mosquitoes) and Blattodea (cockroaches and termites).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00652...

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