Presentation
Wolbachia is a naturally occurring bacterium that is present in 60% of insect species worldwide. It significantly reduces the capacity of mosquitoes to transmit viruses to humans. [wellcome.ac.uk]
Here, we present the 1,445,873-bp genome of W. pipientis strain w Ri that induces very strong cytoplasmic incompatibility in its natural host Drosophila simulans. [pnas.org]
One approach is to infect male and female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia and release them into an area where these viruses are present over a number of weeks. [malariaconsortium.org]
In the present study we investigate this question theoretically in a mainland-island model with migration from mainland to island. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Entire Body System
- Infertility
And the NEA will be employing X-ray treatment in the field study for the first time, to render female Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infertile. [straitstimes.com]
Tetracycline therapy targets intracellular bacteria in the filarial nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis and results in filarial infertility. [books.google.ro]
Alphabet’s life sciences arm, Verily, says it has built a robot that can raise a million mosquitoes a week and has used it to produce infertile male insects. [technologyreview.com]
In Singapore, officials plan to release male A. aegypti mosquitoes infected with a strain of Wolbachia that renders their offspring infertile. [nature.com]
Nissen-Pähle K, Schmetz C, Henkle-Dührsen K, Blaxter ML, Büttner DW, Gallin MY, Al-Qaoud KM, Lucius R, Fleischer B (1999) Tetracycline therapy targets intracellular bacteria in the filarial nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis and results in filarial infertility [doi.org]
- Collapse
In line with theoretical predictions, Wolbachia infection at a third, smaller release site collapsed due to the immigration of Wolbachia-free mosquitoes from surrounding areas. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
The collapse was slow, as is expected, as the area was only just below the minimum for establishment. [journals.plos.org]
Collapse bacteria gene (type of primer) number of clones sequenced number of individuals tested Wolbachia 16S rRNA (universal primers) 24 6 (2 pools of 3) wsp (specific primers) 48 5 ftsZ (specific primers) 12 5 Arsenophonus 16S rRNA (specific primers [doi.org]
Collapse male wild type wAlbB.MC female wild type 67% (311) 0% (181) wAlbB.MC 63% (205) 63% (424) (c) Dengue inhibition To determine the dengue inhibition capacity of the wAlbB.MC line, females from the wAlbB.MC and wAlbB.L lines, and a Wolbachia-free [royalsocietypublishing.org]
Skin
- Pruritus
When large loads of Wolbachia bacteria are released from microfilariae after microfilaricidal treatment, this induces cutaneous and systemic side effects such as fever, tachycardia, hypotension, lymphadenopathy, and pruritus. [dx.doi.org]
- Dermatitis
The more common generalized form presents with subclinical or intermittent dermatitis (acute and chronic papular dermatitis) that may progress to skin hyperpigmentation or depigmentation (leopard skin) and atrophy with loss of elasticity (hanging groin [dx.doi.org]
Eyes
- Visual Impairment
Neutrophils degrade the corneal matrix, causing corneal haze and visual impairment (6). [dx.doi.org]
impairment and 270,000 are blind [ 1, 2 ]. [doi.org]
- Visual Impairment
Neutrophils degrade the corneal matrix, causing corneal haze and visual impairment (6). [dx.doi.org]
impairment and 270,000 are blind [ 1, 2 ]. [doi.org]
Psychiatrical
- Fear
“People are very tired of dengue fever and very fearful of it, the people who live in affected communities. They are quite eager to see the development of new measures,” he said. [theconversation.com]
Now there’s the fear of the inevitable mosquito-meets-patient if we don’t do something about it. Verily’s plan, called the Debug Project, hopes to now wipe out this potential Zika-carrying mosquito population to prevent further infections. [techcrunch.com]
Communities involved in projects in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Medellin in Colombia, and Indonesia have all embraced the work, possibly because of the fear of the diseases they are trying to control, said O’Neill. [theguardian.com]
But genetically engineered insects have another hurdle to get over: the widespread fear of genetically modified organisms. Some scientists are trying to circumnavigate that fear by working another angle. [dx.doi.org]
Neurologic
- Seizure
Supportive treatment remains the mainstay and includes the management of fever, seizures, headaches or raised intracranial pressure (if any) and maintenance of vital functions. [journals.lww.com]
Here we demonstrate cytoplasmic suppression of the mitochondrial disease-like phenotype of the Drosophila melanogaster nuclear mutant tko 25t, which includes developmental delay, seizure sensitivity, and defective male courtship. [dx.doi.org]
- Stroke
Arboviral infections cause a wide range of life-threatening manifestations, notably nervous system disease (encephalitis, meningitis, seizures, stroke, myelitis, polyradiculoneuritis and myositis), liver disease (heptatitis and fulminant hepatic failure [journals.lww.com]
Workup
Microbiology
- Pseudomonas
Following this period, we sacrificed six exposed and two control flies and counted CFUs by plating the fly homogenate in Pseudomonas isolating media (PAIM). [royalsocietypublishing.org]
The evidence for pathogen suppression was reported in Ae. aegypti, with induced resistance to bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, by reducing the number of Plasmodium gallinaceum oocysts by triggering the co-expression of two antimicrobial peptides [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
One physiological function of bacterial ankyrin-like proteins was demonstrated in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, where ankyrin repeat AnkB is essential for optimal activity of periplasmic catalase, probably serving as a protective scaffold in the periplasm [ [doi.org]
[…] immune system in pathogen suppression was reported by Kokoza and colleagues, who showed that the co‐expression of two antimicrobial peptides (cecropin A and defensin A) in transgenic A. aegypti induces resistance to infection with the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas [dx.doi.org]
[…] immune system in pathogen suppression was reported by Kokoza and colleagues, who showed that the co-expression of two antimicrobial peptides (cecropin A and defensin A) in transgenic A. aegypti induces resistance to infection with the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas [embopress.org]
Treatment
This could render doxycycline treatment an additional tool for the treatment of microfilaria-associated diseases in bancroftian filariasis, such as tropical pulmonary eosinophilia and microfiluria. [doi.org]
He said: “The anti- Wolbachia strategy has proved to be a paradigm changing therapeutic approach to treatment. [lstmed.ac.uk]
The apparent mutualistic dependency has also offered a novel approach to the treatment of onchocerciasis through the use of antibiotics to eliminate Wolbachia, delivering for the first time a treatment which has significant macrofilaricidal efficacy. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Antibiotic Treatments. Larval treatment. This mode of treatment is specific for larval parasitoid species and has been used successfully in various parasitoid species ( 30 ). [pnas.org]
Etiology
The etiological agent of cytoplasmic incompatibility in Culex pipiens. . J Invertebr Pathol 22 :, 242– – 250. [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] Zambon R. A., Nandakumar M., Vakharia V. N., Wu L. P.. ( 2005 ; ). [jgv.microbiologyresearch.org]
Dengue (DENV), Zika (ZIKV), and chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses are among the many etiological agents transmitted by A. aegypti, highlighting its status as a major disease vector (Kraemer et al., 2015; WHO, 2017). [frontiersin.org]
Genetics 187 : 583 – 595 ↵ Yen JH, Barr AR ( 1973 ) The etiological agent of cytoplasmic incompatibility in Culex pipiens. J Invertebr Pathol 22 : 242 – 250 ↵ Zaim M, Guillet P ( 2002 ) Alternative insecticides: an urgent need. [dx.doi.org]
Yen JH, Barr AR (1973) The etiological agent of cytoplasmic incompatibility in Culex pipiens. J Invertebr Pathol 22: 242–250 Crossref PubMed Web of Science®Google Scholar 129. Zaim M, Guillet P (2002) Alternative insecticides: an urgent need. [embopress.org]
Epidemiology
We found that Wolbachia has a greater effect on secondary infections than on primary infections across a range of epidemiological characteristics. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
This fixed term opportunity will be reporting to the Epidemiology Manager and will have a key role in the implementation of epidemiologic studies to determine the efficacy of the Wolbachia method in reducing the transmission of dengue and other arboviruses [jobs.theconversation.com]
Prevention
Similar studies in two (2) areas in Australia; Yorkeys Knob and Gordonvale found that 15 weeks after released, 100% and 90% of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were found to be carrying Wolbachia respectively – proving that the bacteria that prevents the [imr.gov.my]
There is also a lack of large scale epidemiological studies to scientifically determine whether pathogen blocking actually prevents outbreaks. [remediumone.com]
Consequently, the WHO is encouraging countries to boost the development and implementation of Wolbachia-based prevention strategies against other arboviral infections. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Aedes aegypti mosquito feeding on photographer James Gathany, CDC Earlier this week, I wrote about one exciting new technology, the genetically modified Oxitec mosquito , which works by preventing eggs from hatching. [forbes.com]
Wolbachia uses a variety of methods to reduce males in insect populations, including eliminating male offspring and preventing successful mating with uninfected males. [microbiologysociety.org]