That should dramatically reduce the population of the Aedes aegypti species of the insect that is responsible for the Zika virus, dengue fever and chikungunya, according to the company.
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There have been 426 cases of travel-related Zika reported in the continental United States.
The recent rise in the spread of the virus in some countries has been accompanied by an unprecedented rise in the number of children being born with unusually small heads, identified as microcephaly. So far, it’s swept though South and Central America, into Mexico and across the Caribbean.
That’s why the Department of Public Health is warning residents who have traveled to these regions not to have unprotected sex for six months after their return.
“Wolbachia showed to be as effective on Zika as the most important dengue experiments we did”, Moreira said.
Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda have each recorded their first laboratory confirmed case of Zika infection. In most people it causes only a mild illness at worst.
The Zika test can be used on the serum of infected individuals to detect viruses at significantly lower concentrations than previously possible.
However, following large outbreaks of Zika virus in French Polynesia in 2013 and in Brazil past year, studies have increasingly suggested a link between infection during pregnancy and microcephaly.
“Our synthetic biology pipeline for rapid sensor design and prototyping has tremendous potential for application for the Zika virus and other public health threats, enabling us to rapidly develop new diagnostics when and where they are needed most”, he said.
The woman is reported to be 20 weeks pregnant and was infected with the virus during a trip to Latin America.
And Thursday night, another Zika case, Connecticut’s fourth since March, was confirmed, reports WFSB-TV. The method involves inserting the bacteria into mosquito eggs, which then pass the bacteria along to their offspring.
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CDC officials say that for the Zika virus to turn up in this country, a mosquito would have to be exposed to the virus by biting an infected person who contracted it while traveling. Brazil, the epicenter of the mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak, hosts the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro from August 5 to 21.
