Tackling Zika using bacteria as a Trojan horse
Wednesday, February 24, 2016 - 10:10
in Biology & Nature
Bacteria in the gut of disease-bearing insects -- including the mosquito which carries the Zika virus -- can be used as a Trojan horse to help control the insects' population, new research has shown. The results showed declines in fertility of up to 100 percent and an increase of 60 percent in the mortality rate of larvae, among the insects studied. The findings offer the prospect of a much more targeted approach to insect control.