MALFUNCTIONING mosquitoes made in Abingdon have been used to almost wipe out deadly dengue fever in one Central American suburb.

Abingdon pest control firm Oxitec genetically engineered males which produce dud offspring that die before adulthood.

The firm sent 4.3 million specially-engineered eggs to be released in the neighbourhood of Nuevo Chorrillo, west of Panama City.

The outcome was a 90 per cent reduction in the local population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits dengue and chikungunya viruses.

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Oxitec CEO Hadyn Parry said: “This is far and away the most sustainable way to control Aedes aegypti since it affects only the target species and does not persist in the environment.

“It provides an urgently-needed new tool that can be used in conjunction with existing programmes.”

He said he was particularly pleased because the project, from April to October last year, took place in the rainy season when mosquito numbers rise.

Dengue causes a range of severe flu-like symptoms and is sometimes fatal. There is no vaccine or medication.

It is estimated by the World Health Organisation to affect 50 to 100 million people a year and rising.

The project was overseen in Panama by the Gorgas Institute, a public health body and world-leader in disease control.

Director Nestor Sosa said: “Chemical-based approaches have not been able to control this mosquito sufficiently well to prevent the epidemics that Panama has experienced.

“The pest reductions achieved using the Oxitec solution go far beyond what is practical with conventional insecticides and therefore gives real hope ofproviding people with vitally needed protection from dengue and chikungunya.”


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