20 May 2012
Fighting dengue fever with genetically modified mosquitoes and vaccines
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Two Aedes aegypti larvae are shown glowing red or green under a fluorescence microscope because they carry a gene encoding a fluorescent protein.
Some new weapons are being developed to fight dengue fever. One is genetically modified mosquitoes and the other is a vaccine. Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. In recent years, transmission has increased predominantly in urban and semi-urban areas and has become a major international public health concern. The World Health Organization (
WHO) says severe dengue is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in some Asian countries. The virus afflicts as many as 100 million people a year around the world.
Duration: 4’22″
