Scientists receive ally in fight against Zika virus
Scientists on the hunt for ways to slow down the spread of the Zika virus may have just found a new ally in the form of a bacteria called"Wolbachia."
The Aedes aegypti mosquito, the more abundant of the two species known to spread the Zika virus, are less able to spread the virus if they are exposed to the bacteria, according to a study published today in the medical journal Cell Host & Microbe.
Mosquitoes containing this bacteria did not become infected with the Zika virus when being administered saliva from other infected mosquitoes, researchers from theRene Rachou-Fiocruz Research Center in Brazil discovered.
When they did the same test in mosquitoes without the Wolbachia bacteria, around 85 percent of mosquitoes became infected with the Zika virus.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito, the more abundant of the two species known to spread the Zika virus, are less able to spread the virus if they are exposed to the bacteria, according to a study published today in the medical journal Cell Host & Microbe.
Mosquitoes containing this bacteria did not become infected with the Zika virus when being administered saliva from other infected mosquitoes, researchers from theRene Rachou-Fiocruz Research Center in Brazil discovered.
When they did the same test in mosquitoes without the Wolbachia bacteria, around 85 percent of mosquitoes became infected with the Zika virus.