Scientists make breakthrough in fight against Zika
Scientists from the University of Glasgow have made a breakthrough in the fight against dengue and Zika virus transmission from mosquitoes.
New research has proved that a novel strain of the inherited bacteria Wolbachia blocks the transmission of the viruses.
Work carried out by scientists from the University of Glasgow’s MRC Centre for Virus Research (CVR) concluded that the 'wAu' strain is more effective at blocking virus transmission than those currently being used.
Professor Steven Sinkins said: “The Wolbachia transmission blocking strategy shows great promise for the control of mosquito-borne viruses, and is now starting to be deployed on a large scale in a number of tropical countries.
"Our results with the wAu strain showed by far the effective transmission blocking for all the viruses we tested, and it provides an exciting new option to explore for disease control programmes".
The scientists say their research can be 100 per cent effective when it comes to blocking the transmission.
Zika is transmitted through mosquitoes and has been prevalent in Central America, South America, Africa and south-east Asia.
The disease has caused a number of birth defects as it can attack the brain of a foetus during pregnancy.