title: Wolbachia: The selfish Trojan Horse in dengue control.
abstract: Dengue fever has re-emerged as a major public health challenge. Of late, several promising attempts have been made to control the disease with limited success. An innovative method of biological control of dengue is the use of the bacteriumWolbachia. Selected strains ofWolbachiahave been introduced intoAedes aegyptito prevent transmission of dengue viruses by the vector.Wolbachiaprevents dengue transmission by either directly blocking the virus or by decreasing the lifespan of the vector. The mechanism by which it causes these effects is not clearly understood. The main concern of this technique is the emergence of a new dengue virus serotype which may evade the protection offered byWolbachia. The technique is environment friendly and holds promise for control of other vector borne diseases.
authors.affiliation: Officer Commanding, Station Health Organisation (Large), Allahabad 908406, India.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Mustafa
authors.affiliation: Brig IC Adm & Cdr Tps, Command Hospital (Southern Command), Pune 411040, India.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rastogi
authors.affiliation: Director, AFMS (Health), O/o DGAFMS, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: ADH & Senior Adviser (PSM), HQ 11 Corps, C/O 56 APO, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: Officer Commanding, Station Health Organisation (Large), Bengaluru, India.
authors.forename: P M P
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Officer Commanding, Station Health Organisation (Large), Dehradun, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
keywords: Aedes; Biological control; Dengue fever; Strain; Wolbachia