Wolbachia Mosquitos are Effective After 60 Percent of Population, Researcher Says
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29 November 2023 10:54 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A researcher from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Adi Utarini stated that Wolbachia mosquitos will be effective in suppressing the replication of the dengue virus in Aedes aegypti mosquitos when its population has reached 60 percent.
"When [the population] reaches 60 percent, they will reproduce naturally," the Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing of UGM during a working meeting with Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Tuesday.
The method of releasing the Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquito is carried out in stages using a bucket which is filled with Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs.
Each bucket is placed in each house about 75 meters from one another. Then, the water in the buckets is replaced every two weeks.
"Thus, for six months the Aedes Aegypti mosquito with Wolbachia will spread to the community," said Uut, as the professor is usually called.
At the same time, researchers will spread 250 mosquito traps to attract the insects. "So, we place around 250 traps in Yogyakarta, in which every week we will count and examine which insects are caught there. And how many Aedes aegypti are caught there," she said.
When the population of Wolbachia mosquitoes has reached 60 percent, Uut added, these mosquitos will reproduce naturally.
There are three Wolbachia transmissions in the Aedes aegypti mosquito. First, it occurs when a male mosquito with Wolbachia is introduced to a female mosquito with Wolbachia.
Second, mosquitoEditor's Choice:Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google Newss without Wolbachia will be introduced to female mosquitos with Wolbachia to create Wolbachia mosquito eggs. Third, male mosquitos with Wolbachia will be introduced to female mosquitos without Wolbachia, where the eggs will not hatch.
Wolbachia is considered capable of stemming the transmission of the dengue virus since it has the ability to compete for nutrition with viruses and bacteria in mosquito cells. And with insufficient nutrients, the dengue virus inside mosquitos will not be able to reproduce.
"When the population reaches 60 percent, we will withdraw the buckets and halt the release [of Wolbachia]," she said.
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