Dengue fever research success
A research team from the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research has been shortlisted for a prestigious Prix Galien UK Award for their groundbreaking dengue virus control strategy, which is showing impressive success in the fight against dengue in Malaysia.
Currently, there are around 80-100 million cases of dengue fever annually across the world, with symptoms of the mosquito-borne infection including fever and sickness. In some rare cases dengue fever can cause serious illness, requiring urgent care.
Led by Steven Sinkins, Professor in Microbiology & Tropical Medicine at Glasgow, the WolBloc group is up for Best Public Sector Innovation at the Awards, which recognise achievement in health research and celebrate 'made in the UK' innovations.
The nomination entry for their work demonstrates an approach which uses naturally occurring bacteria, Wolbachia (specifically the wAlbB strain) to block transmission of the dengue virus by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Wolbachia, which are harmless to humans, are introduced into dengue hotspot sites using releases of lab-reared mosquitoes. wAlbB then spreads through local mosquito populations and once established, remains at high levels in the mosquito population long term, and prevents them from transmitting dengue virus to people.
The work – which is a result of a partnership between the University of Glasgow, the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) Malaysia, and the University of Melbourne – has led to the successful deployment of wAlbB mosquitoes across multiple urban sites in Malaysia.
Field trials have demonstrated a significant reduction in dengue incidence, with an overall drop in cases of over 70% when Wolbachia is established at high frequency. Unlike chemical insecticides, which can lose effectiveness due to mosquito resistance, the Wolbachia method is self-sustaining and environmentally friendly. The wAlbB strain is particularly suited to hot climates, as it maintains high density in mosquitoes and is resilient to heat stress.