To suppress wild female Aedes aegypti mosquito populations that cause dengue, chikungunya and Zika were launched in Maharashtra’s Jalna district.
The technology uses genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry a dominant lethal gene. When male GM mosquitoes mate with wild female mosquitoes the lethal gene is passed on to offspring. The lethal gene in the offspring kills the larvae before they reach adulthood.
male mosquitoes do not bite humans, the release of GM males will not increase the risk of dengue, chikungunya and Zika.
Vector control using A. aegypti infected with the bacterium Wolbachia is achieved by using the life-shortening bacteria strain in both male and female mosquitoes
As Wolbachia is maternally inherited, the bacteria are anyway passed on to offspring. Dengue, Zika or chikunguya viruses cannot replicate when mosquitoes have Wolbachia . Unlike the RIDL technology, a feature of Wolbachia is that it is self-sustaining, making it a low-cost intervention.
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