Brazil’s Mosquito Factory is Supposed to Curb Dengue. There's A Better Way.

A massive mosquito factory is under construction in Brazil, according to a recent article in Nature. My initial reaction — huh? — quickly gave way to intrigue, which soon morphed into confusion. Many folks have already commented on the news, but nobody has said this: This mosquito factory will be outdated as soon as it’s completed. The factory will produce up to five billion mosquitoes each year, each of which will be infected with a bacterium, called Wolbachia. These infected mosquitoes (all Aedes aegypti) will be released in cities across Brazil; they’ll breed with their wild counterparts and pass the microbe to their offspring. Mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia have a reduced ability to transmit viruses to people. Cases of dengue and Zika will slowly fall. At least, that’s the goal. The World Mosquito Program (tagline: “Releasing Hope”) is behind the Brazil factory. They’ve already carried out controlled releases of Wolbachia mosquitoes in Indonesia and Rio de Janeiro. Those trials

A massive mosquito factory is under construction in Brazil, according to a recent article in Nature. My initial reaction — huh? — quickly gave way to intrigue, which soon morphed into confusion. Many folks have already commented on the news, but nobody has said this: This mosquito factory will be outdated as soon as it’s completed. The factory will produce up to five billion mosquitoes each year, each of which will be infected with a bacterium, called Wolbachia. These infected mosquitoes (all Aedes aegypti) will be released in cities across Brazil; they’ll breed with their wild counterparts an