Indonesian Scientists Breed Bacteria-Carrying Mosquitoes to Combat Dengue Fever

Oneindia

Scientists in Indonesia are trying a new approach in the fight against Dengue fever - a disease spread by mosquitoes that is sometimes fatal. The idea is to breed mosquitoes that carry bacteria that make them unable to spread dengue fever.    #OIDW #DWVideos #DengueFever #Indonesia #MosquitoControl #DiseasePrevention #HealthInnovation #PublicHealth #ScientificResearch #VectorBorneDiseases #BacteriaCarryingMosquitoes #DenguePrevention #GlobalHealth #MosquitoBreeding #InfectiousDiseases #TropicalDiseases #HealthInitiative                 ~PR.152~HT.178~ED.194~

Transcript

00:00 "Vitriani is raising mosquitoes, special ones.

00:05 These larvae will become Wolbachia mosquitoes.

00:08 They cannot spread dengue fever and should replace those which do."

00:14 Her eight-year-old son got sick with dengue a few months ago.

00:18 Vitriani is keen to stop that happening to her older son.

00:23 "I want the mosquitoes around my house to be non-dengue viral.

00:30 At first I was annoyed, of course, because there were more mosquitoes.

00:34 But in the long run, for the sake of our health, it's OK."

00:42 These officials are distributing seven million mosquito eggs, delivered on beds of cloth

00:48 in these plastic bags, complete with pallets of food.

00:52 They deliver every two weeks to 11,000 houses.

00:56 That's less than a quarter of the city.

00:59 But the need is real.

01:02 Indonesian hospitals treated three times as many dengue cases in the first five months

01:07 of this year as the same period last year.

01:11 This year, three people died here in Semarang, and 180 more became ill with it.

01:17 Most of them children.

01:21 Researchers here say they think they can see the results of the Semarang Wolbachia Mosquito

01:26 Program.

01:27 "That may have a huge impact on reducing dengue fever.

01:35 Patients from Semarang City mostly come to the hospital with mild and moderate dengue

01:39 fever.

01:40 But patients from other cities come with severe conditions and symptoms."

01:44 Despite the fact that this program has proven successful in several areas, some people are

01:54 still skeptical about this solution.

01:57 Many neighborhoods in Semarang have rejected this mosquito program.

02:03 That's why this team are talking to locals here.

02:05 They hope to counter misinformation spread on social media.

02:10 Theorists suggest the mosquito scheme is the government trying to spread dengue, or that

02:15 the mosquitoes give people a second disease.

02:19 "After there were many cases of dengue fever and the mosquitoes became more numerous, I

02:25 became afraid.

02:26 I was afraid that the mosquitoes would carry the dengue virus."

02:32 People here in the city of Yogyakarta would tell them otherwise.

02:36 This is where the first Wolbachia program back in 2016 took place.

02:41 The number of dengue cases is down by 77 percent.

02:46 This is also home to the Wolbachia Mosquito Hatching Station.

02:51 This laboratory at Gajah Mada University produces millions of mosquito eggs for delivery across

02:57 Indonesia.

02:59 But scientists here know their work will only succeed when people are on board.

03:06 "The most important thing is when most of the community accepts it, we can mobilize

03:13 support.

03:14 I think that can enable this technology to have an impact on the community."

03:20 Back in Semarang, Fitriani needs no convincing.

03:25 She says her family is safer thanks to anti-dengue mosquitoes like this one.

03:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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