Insect vectors: a mosquito capable of limiting viral infection

There are over a hundred mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue – which affects over 50 million people each year – and chikungunya. These are arboviruses, in other words viruses that are transmitted between vertebrates via a bite from a hematophagous vector. Scientists at the Institut Pasteur have developed a mosquito that can recognize the dengue and chikungunya viruses and limit viral infection. This paves the way for an alternative arbovirus control strategy based on genetically modified mosquito vectors.

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