Combating mosquito-borne diseases using genetic control technologies

Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue and malaria, pose significant global health burdens. Unfortunately, current control methods based on insecticides and environmental maintenance have fallen short of eliminating the disease burden. Scalable, deployable, genetic-based solutions are sought to reduce the transmission risk of these diseases. Pathogen-blocking Wolbachia bacteria, or genome engineering-based mosquito control strategies including gene drives have been developed to address these problems, both requiring the release of modified mosquitoes into the environment. Here, we review the latest developments, notable similarities, and critical distinctions between these promising technologies and discuss their future applications for mosquito-borne disease control. Mosquito-borne diseases pose significant global health burdens. In this review, the authors explore Wolbachia and genome engineering approaches to mosquito-borne disease population control.

Automated summary

This review explores the latest developments in pathogen-blocking Wolbachia and genome engineering approaches to mosquito-borne disease control, discussing their similarities and critical distinctions, as well as their potential future applications.