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Mosquito trial in dengue fever battle

Fri, 12/11/2010 - 10:41 by Rakhi

Oxford, England -- A field trial in the Caribbean using genetically altered mosquitoes to combat the spread of dengue fever has been a success, researchers say.

The use of the genetically modified insects to sabotage wild Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread the viral fever, took place on the island of Grand Cayman, NewScientist.com reported.

By the end of the six-month trial on a 40-acre plot, populations of the native insects had plummeted, researchers said.

"It's a proof of principle, that it works," says Angela Harris of the Grand Cayman Mosquito Control and Research Unit.

The MCRU conducted the trial with U.K. company Oxitec that bred the modified mosquitoes.

Dengue fever cases on rise in Philippines

Tue, 27/07/2010 - 10:58 by Rakhi

Manila, Philippines -- At least 23 people, mostly children, have died of mosquito-borne dengue fever in the Philippines since the start of the year, health officials said.

Health officials in Zamboanga City say the disease, which has stricken 1,052 others in the same period, is a cause for alarm, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported Sunday.

"It has reached the alert level in Western Mindanao. The number of deaths is higher compared to 2008, during which we declared a dengue outbreak with eight deaths," Rodelin Agbulos said.

Officials have started a cleanup drive in the wake of a nearly 300 percent rise in dengue cases in some areas.

Dengue fever cases on rise in Phillipines

Tue, 27/07/2010 - 10:12 by Rakhi

Manila, Philippines -- At least 23 people, mostly children, have died of mosquito-borne dengue fever in the Philippines since the start of the year, health officials said.

Health officials in Zamboanga City say the disease, which has stricken 1,052 others in the same period, is a cause for alarm, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported Sunday.

"It has reached the alert level in Western Mindanao. The number of deaths is higher compared to 2008, during which we declared a dengue outbreak with eight deaths," Rodelin Agbulos said.

Officials have started a cleanup drive in the wake of a nearly 300 percent rise in dengue cases in some areas.

Weather helps predict dengue fever

Tue, 27/10/2009 - 15:33 by shalini.bahadur

Guangzhou, China -- Chinese scientists say they've determined weather conditions such as temperatures, humidity and wind speed can help predict dengue fever outbreaks.

Dengue fever -- one of the most widespread insect-borne diseases found in humans -- is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Being able to predict the trend of dengue fever can facilitate early public heath responses.

Climate models predict dengue epidemics

Wed, 10/06/2009 - 01:19 by Salinder Kumar

Coral Gables, Fla. -- U.S. and Costa Rican scientists say they've developed the first climate-based computer model that can predict dengue fever outbreaks in Costa Rica.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Miami and the University of Costa Rica said the new model can predict dengue fever epidemics with 83 percent accuracy, up to 40 weeks in advance of an outbreak and provide information on the magnitude of future epidemics. The Costa Rican model, the researchers said, can be expanded to include the broader region of Latin America and the Caribbean.