Paraguayan Plan Could Use GMOs to Combat Dengue

Can genetically modified organisms (GMOs) combat the deadly dengue virus?  The answer could come out of Paraguay where the government is considering backing a pilot program using genetically modified mosquitos.

According to one media report, the strategy consists of using genetically modified male versions of the Aedes Aegypti mosquitos that normally spread the dengue virus.  These males would be introduced into areas with a high density of their female counterparts and left to procreate. The resulting larvae would die quickly due to the transgene passed down from the males.

Scientists representing British-based Oxitec Limited presented their plan to Paraguayan authorities earlier this month.  According to the Paraguayan press, one of the company’s experts claimed that their proposal successfully decreased the Aedes Aegypti mosquito population in Bahia, Brazil by 85%.  (A 2011 Oxitec newsletter described that a similar proposal reduced the number of Aedes Aegypti mosquitos on the Cayman Islands by 80%).

The firm also alleged that the genetically modified mosquitos would not represent a risk to the human populace since they don’t bite people.

“We’re looking to see if this project is feasible and if it can fit within the circumstances of our country,” said Agueda Cabello, director of Paraguay’s health ministry.  “If so, then it would be very interesting since it would be a tool that can be used to combat dengue,” she added.

At least 96 people have died in Paraguay this year due to dengue along with at least 448 cases of the disease reported in the country just in this month.

The disease affects millions or people worldwide, especially in tropical regions, and is characterized by high fever, severe body aches, rash and sometimes bleeding.  Researchers have been unable to develop a vaccine to fight dengue.

2013 “Year of the Dengue Plague” Says LatAm Health Officials

According to the Pan American Health Organization, (PAHO), 2013 is shaping up to be the “year of the dengue plague” in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In a presentation made yesterday at a conference in Cuba, PAHO health expert Luis Castellanos claimed that there have been nearly 1.4 million cases reported of the tropical disease throughout the Americas in this year alone.
 
Castellanos noted that the high numbers may be partly due to stronger efforts by countries to accurately report dengue cases. In the case of Brazil, the Latin American country with the most dengue cases, he said that there’s a major push by health officials to “register and report” instances of the disease.

Despite the large number of dengue cases, Castellanos observed that the death toll from dengue has declined throughout the region.  Nevertheless, he warned that combating dengue is a “very complex public health problem” that requires the participation of other sectors outside the health care field such as civil society.

Though dengue is endemic to Central America, the disease has hit the area especially hard this year.  Some 120,000 suspected cases of dengue have been reported so far in the region while the 2013 death toll of at least 39 has already surpassed the death toll of all of last year.

Daily Headlines: July 4, 2013

* Central America: Four Central American countries - Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador – have issued health alerts over an outbreak of dengue fever that has killed at least seventeen people in the region this year.

* Peru: Two private building companies have been blamed for the leveling of the 5000-year-old El Paraiso pyramid near the capital city of Lima.

* Argentina: Did the Argentine government provide up to 100 tons of “yellowcake” uranium to Israel for its nuclear arms program in the 1960s?

* Venezuela: Changes were made to Venezuela’s currency exchange system in order to increase the flow of U.S. dollars into the country.

Video Source – YouTube via Prensa Latina
 
Online Sources- AFP; io9; Reuters; Jerusalem Post

Daily Headlines: May 15, 2013

* Mexico: The Cinderella story of Mexican soccer team Xolos de Tijuana continues following their surprising qualification to the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals.

* Brazil: Brazil could soon become the latest Latin American country to allow same-sex marriage after a judicial panel ruled that gay couples can receive marriage licenses.

* Costa Rica: President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica has come under fire after using a private plane owned by a Colombian oil company to travel to Peru and Venezuela.

* Caribbean: A rise in dengue favor cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has prompted British doctors to warn against travelling to parts of Central America and the Caribbean.

Video Source – YouTube via user FutbolAlRevesChannel
 
Online Sources- The Guardian; euronewsl France 24; Reuters

Today's Video: Deadly Dengue

Numerous countries throughout the Americas including Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela are on high alert due to the latest outbreak of dengue in the region.  As the below video shows, the dengue outbreak in Peru has hit residents of the remote Amazon region particularly hard:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) dengue has the potential to become a global epidemic since last year it was the "fastest spreading vector-borne viral disease" in the world.  The WHO blamed climate change and greater migration between countries as the causes of the increase in the mosquito-borne disease.

Unfortunately, dengue has no cure and the development of a vaccine is very difficult according to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci:

“The problem with a dengue vaccine is that unlike other viruses where if you get infected with one or vaccinated with one you’re protected, period, after you recover.  Whereas with dengue since there are four types, a vaccine needs to protect you against all four, because if you are only protected against one or two, you are still susceptible to one or the other of the three or four viruses,” Fauci said.

Online Soures - Univision.com, Mercopress, Globovision, France24, Voice of America

Video Source - YouTube via Al Jazeera English     

Daily Headlines: October 11, 2012

* Honduras: A new study from a Mexican thin-tank found that the San Pedro Sula, Honduras is the most dangerous city on Earth and that forty of the world's most violent urban areas are in Latin America.

* Costa Rica: President Laura Chinchilla signed an executive order banning shark-finning days after the country’s legislature passed a bill barring hunting for sport.

* Puerto Rico: Health officials declared a dengue epidemic in the commonwealth that has killed two and infected over 4800 individuals.

* Argentina: Latin American defense chiefs at a conference in Uruguay passed a resolution supporting Argentina’s sovereignty claim to the Falklands Islands.

Video Source – YouTube via AFP (Video uploaded in April 2012).

Online Sources- Examiner.com, New York Daily News, Mercopress, AFP, Reuters

Daily Headlines: September 20, 2012

* South America: At least nine people died in Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia after being hit with storms that included ninety-mile-per-hour winds.

* Cuba: A group of thirty Cuban dissidents ended an eight-day hunger strike after authorities reportedly gave in to their demands.

* U.S.: A Department of Justice report found that a North Carolina sheriff routinely discriminated against Latinos including referring to Latinos as “taco eaters”.

* Costa Rica: Cases of dengue fever have reportedly shot up by 36% in Costa Rica with over 8400 people affected by the illness.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR

Online Sources- France24, Huffington Post, Bernama, Reuters

Daily Headlines: April 13, 2011

* Chile: Was Chilean president Sebastián Piñera really hoodwinked by his pen-stealing Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus?

* Paraguay: The country is going through one of the worst epidemics of the dengue fever according to local health authorities.

* Guatemala: First lady Sandra Torres de Colom could soon run for the presidency after a judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the divorce from her president husband.

* Uruguay: Uruguay could become the next Latin American country to legalize same sex marriages.

Video Source – euronews via YouTube
Online Sources- The Guardian, Mercopress, Huffington Press, On Top Magazine

Daily Headlines: March 28, 2011

* Brazil: Five policemen in the city of Manaus were arrested after a security camera caught them harassing and shooting at a fourteen-year-old boy.

* Venezuela: A group of university protesters ended their month-long hunger strike after the government reportedly met their demands of increased public spending on universities.

* Colombia: Residents of the Amazon village of Nazareth have banned tourists partly due to the visitors' alleged disrespect towards indigenous people.

* South America: At least 38 people have died in Paraguay and Bolivia as a result of a dengue outbreak began roughly three months ago.

Video Source – AP via YouTube
Online Sources- UPI, MercoPress, The Canadian Press, BBC News

Daily Headlines: July 20 2010

* Caribbean: The possibility of a region wide dengue fever outbreak could be a reality after dozens of deaths in the Caribbean have been attributed to the illness.

* Latin America: A severe cold front has hit several South American countries and has caused the deaths of at least three dozen people.

* Cuba: Nine freed political prisoners are expected to arrive in Spain today while a meeting between U.S. officials and Cuban dissident families has been postponed.

* Colombia: Several E.U. legislators have called on the parliament's human rights commission to look into alleged illegal activity by Colombia’s beleaguered intelligence agency.

Image – CNN (“Dengue patients are treated at a hospital in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The virus has caused a national emergency.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, CNN, MSNBC, Deutsche Welle

Daily Headlines: April 15, 2010

* Mexico: One of the positives from this week’s Nuclear Security Summit was that the U.S., Canada and Mexico agreed to unite and work on Mexican nuclear material.

* Bolivia: For a true pause that refreshes why not try “Coca Colla” (not a typo), a new Bolivian soda that has real coca as an ingredient.

* El Salvador: There have been at least 3633 cases of dengue in El Salvador this year according to local health authorities.

* Paraguay: Via decree from President Fernando Lugo all smoking is barred in closed public spaces such as bars and malls.

Image – USA TODAY
Online Sources- AP, Xinhua, Guardian UK, UPI

Could genetics and pee curb dengue fever?

Last week we briefly looked at how health officials throughout Latin America are preparing for a possible dengue fever outbreak. (Bolivia’s government has reportedly distributed over 4000 candles coated with mosquito repellant, for example).

Scientists have been working for decades to figure out how to curb the speared of dengue via infected mosquitoes. Researchers in California, for instance, have created a new breed of mosquito that cannot fly. Meanwhile scientists at Cornell University identified a unique way to possible prevent the spread of dengue:

The scientists identified a protein that appears to be involved in promoting urination as the insects feed on blood. When mosquitoes consume and process blood meals, they must urinate to prevent fluid and salt overloads that can kill them, as well as shed weight to be able to fly away, the scientists said.

"Thus, blocking the function of this protein in natural populations of mosquitoes may limit their ability to survive the physiological stresses of a blood meal and to further transmit viruses," researcher Peter Piermarini said.

There is currently no vaccine or similar treatment to avoid dengue apart from preventative measures. Nonetheless, it’s possible that the work by researchers could lead to a vaccine against an illness that the Centers for Disease Control cites as infecting 100 million people yearly.

Image- ABC Online
Online Sources- Centers for Disease Control, Wikipedia, The Latin Americanist, Voice of America, UPI

Daily Headlines: March 3, 2010

* U.S.: Donations are being sought to help treat the cancer of Jaime Escalante- the Bolivian-born Los Angeles teacher made famous in the 1988 movie "Stand and Deliver".

* Ecuador: The tense environmental damage trial between Ecuador and Chevron may soon come to an end.

* Venezuela: The country is officially in a recession after new data revealed that the economy shrunk by 3.3% last year.

* Puerto Rico: Health officials have declared an epidemic of dengue fever in Puerto Rico.

Image – Lyon College
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, LAHT, Los Angeles Times, BusinessWeek, San Fransisco Gate

The Half-Year That Was: H1N1

We continue our look at some of the notable headlines of the past six-and-a-half months with the uproar over the swine flu.

Three months ago the press couldn’t stop reporting on the H1N1 virus swine flu, especially how Mexico was hit the hardest. The capital city of Mexico City was virtually shutdown for several weeks in an effort to contain the illness. Nevertheless, the disease has officially been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic and it has spread throughout the Americas. Though the swine flu continues to expand, the danger exists that such a strong focus on the disease could drain resources from deadlier maladies like Chagas disease and the dengue fever.

The following CBS News video from April looks at how the lives of Mexico City residents were turned upside down by the flu:

Online Sources- Reuters, YouTube, The Latin Americanist

Looking out for dangerous dengue fever

Several Latin American countries continue to be on alert over the swine flu such as Argentina and Peru. Yet that shouldn’t take away from the need to combat an even deadlier disease affecting the region: dengue fever.

Brazilian health officials reported yesterday that the number of dengue fever cases this year fell by 50% compared to last year and the number of deaths dropped by 70%. Yet 131 Brazilians died from the dengue compared to one confirmed fatality due to the H1N1 virus.

According to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, climate change could lead to dengue fever spreading throughout the U.S. as more disease-carrying mosquitoes adapt to colder climates. Urbanization, climate change, and expanding global commerce are factors leading to the boost in dengue fever including more cases in Mexico and a possible threat to Puerto Rico.

Researchers are looking into a possible solution though it will likely be a controversial one: genetically modified mosquitoes.

A new strategy involves a subtle reconfiguring of the bug's DNA. Scientists working in labs near Oxford have devised a genetic modification that sterilizes the male Aedes, transforming the critter into his own worst enemy. He can still mate—but he can't breed. Any offspring dies before becoming fully developed. The idea is to release a huge, all-conquering swarm of the doctored insects into the wild, let them find partners among the native females and wait for the mosquito population to decline. Preliminary trials, looking at both safety and effectiveness, have already taken place in Malaysia. Within a few years, the Franken-insects could be airborne.

Image- BBC
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Newsweek, Miami Herald, NASDAQ, Reuters, Bernama