WOLBACHIA AS A WEAPON AGAINST DENGUE

WOLBACHIA AS A WEAPON AGAINST DENGUE

Dear Mr. President: It is commonly said that to win a war, we must first know our enemy. I think that that saying is very much applicable in our war against dengue, and please allow me to explain what I mean by that. To be clear, our enemy is not dengue itself, but the infected Aedes mosquitos that are the carriers of the dengue virus. Not all mosquitos are carriers, and not all Aedes mosquitos are carriers, only those that belong to the Flavivirus genus are the carriers.

It goes without saying Sir, that to win the war against the dengue virus, we must defeat not the disease itself, but the carriers of the virus, namely the Aedes mosquitos. Going back to the subject of knowing our enemy, we must know that mosquitos in general are arthropods belonging to the class Insecta. Since we know already who or what our enemies are, the next thing that we need to know is what weapons we need to fight them, so to speak.

According to Microsoft Copilot, “Wolbachia is gram-negative bacteria that infects a wide range of arthropods and some nematodes”. In other words, Sir, Wolbachia is a bacterium that could be used as a weapon to fight against the Aedes mosquito, simply it is an arthropod that is vulnerable to it. what can Wolbachia do to the Aedes mosquito? First, it can live inside the cells of the host mosquito, and the bacteria can be passed from one generation of the host to the next, through the eggs. Secondly, it can do damage to the reproductive cycle of the host, such as asexual reproduction, feminization and male killing. Thirdly, it can function as a biocontrol agent that weakens the ability of mosquitos to transmit viruses such as dengue and zika.

Copilot also says that the use of Wolbachia in the Philippines is “still in the research and evaluation stage”, possibly within a unit of the DOH. Copilot adds that “public sentiments towards this technology is generally positive, but more studies and public engagement are needed to ensure its safety and effectiveness. I can understand why the DOH is very careful in releasing this bacterium for general use, because if mistakes are made, we might cause some biohazard accidents that could go beyond the control of the government.

In the meantime, Mr. President, the government should also carefully weigh the pros and cons, because we could be losing the war already as we speak. As of September, this year, the government reported about 208,000 cases of dengue, representing an increase of about 68% increase over the same period last year. While waiting for a final approval Sir, perhaps you could consider instructing the DOH to conduct a small pilot test in a controlled environment? Perhaps the DOH could do it in a remote isolated island? IKE SENERES/11-06-2024

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