A
new diagnostic tool has been developed by researchers at The University of
Texas at Austin that can easily, quickly and cheaply identify whether a
mosquito belongs to the species that carries dangerous diseases such as Zika
virus, dengue, chikungunya or yellow fever. It can also determine whether the
bug has come into contact with a mosquito-control strategy known as Wolbachia.
"Many
of these diseases are spreading in areas where they weren't common
before," said Sanchita Bhadra, a research associate in the Department of
Molecular Biosciences and first author on the paper. "Having surveillance
is important in conjunction with any kind of outbreak, and this method allows a
rapid test in the field."
The
tool uses a smartphone camera, a small 3D-printed box and a simple chemical
test to show whether a dead mosquito belongs to the Aedes aegypti species.
Aedes aegypti carries Zika and other devastating viruses that afflict an
estimated 100 million people worldwide each year. The species also is closely
linked to the tripling of cases of mosquito-borne diseases in the United States
since 2004.
The
research appears in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
The
tool developed by scientists and students at UT Austin also detects the
presence of a biopesticide called Wolbachia, a type of bacteria that keeps
mosquitoes from spreading diseases. In countries around the world and in 20
U.S. states where the Aedes aegypti mosquito is found, scientists working in
public health agencies have started to infect mosquitoes with Wolbachia by
introducing the bacteria into a local mosquito population to help curb
transmission of viruses.
Because
mosquitoes show no outward signs of having the bacteria -- and because existing
diagnostic tests are hard to read, expensive and logistically cumbersome -- the
new tool represents a significant step forward for those hoping to monitor the
effectiveness of Wolbachia.
"This
test can happen without involving a lot of staff and equipment to make sure
Wolbachia is effective and spreading as anticipated," Bhadra said.
Public
health groups trap and kill mosquitoes routinely in conjunction with monitoring
efforts, but existing technology requires a complex process to extract nucleic
acid from inside mosquitoes, often after they have been dead for days and have
started to decay, leading to greater expense and the possibility of more errors
in lab tests than the new technology.
The
new diagnostic tool uses a smartphone's camera and a simple test that can be
done anywhere. It tests mosquitoes' nucleic acid without requiring a
complicated process to remove it. Officially known as a loop-mediated
isothermal amplification and oligonucleotide strand displacement, or LAMP OSD,
the probe delivers a simple yes-or-no readout on a cellphone, with accuracy of
greater than 97 percent.
In
addition to the tests to detect mosquito species and Wolbachia, the team also
is exploring use of the technology to easily identify whether trapped
mosquitoes are carrying Zika, dengue and other pathogens.
See:
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle,
Pharmaceutical Microbiology
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