With the goal to control dengue strains, the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) and Vector Control Research Centre(VCRC) started two mosquito colonies that are infected with bacteria for the control of dengue. The ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre that is located in Puducherry developed two colonies of Aedes Aegypti that are infected with wMel and wAlbB Wolbachia strains called Ae. aegypti for reducing the spread of the viral disease. It has been reported that VCRC had been working for the last four years on Wolbachia mosquitoes which is a microscopic organism.
ICMR-VCRC, director, Dr. Ashwani Kumar stated that “It is actually an endosymbiont. We call it endo which means inside and biont means give and take relationship. It makes it home and then all the Wolbachia here can effectively control the viruses like the dengue virus.”
Around 10,000 eggs which contain two strains wMel and wAlbB were brought for the research from Monash University and it was also cleared by the Government of India.
Dr. Ashwani further explained that the Wolbachia eggs that are hatched by them the mosquitoes and are backed across them with the local strain of Puducherry Aedes aegypti and now that they have created that mosquitoes of Puducherry that is having Wolbachia. After cross-breeding, there are stable lines of Wolbachia which are carrying these mosquitoes. He added further that these mosquitoes have been found suitable for replacing both dengue and chikungunya viruses.
