Abstract

URIBE-ALVAREZ, Cristina  and  CHIQUETE FELIX, Natalia. Vector-borne diseases and the potential use of Wolbachia, an obligate endocellular bacterium, to eradicate them. Rev. Fac. Med. (Méx.) [online]. 2017, vol.60, n.6, pp.51-55. ISSN 2448-4865.

According to the World and Health Organization (WHO), 17% of the worldwide reported infectious diseases are vector-borne. One alternative for blocking the transmission of these infectious agents is to infect the vectors with the endocellular bacterium Wolbachia. Several studies have shown that Wolbachia shortens mosquitos' lifespan and increases their resistance to some virus like Dengue, Zika or Chikungunya. Wolbachia also causes cytoplasmic incompatibility, so, when Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes are released among an uninfected female population, the production of an offspring is not viable and the mosquito population decreases drastically. This article includes an overview of the most common vector-borne infectious diseases as well as a review of the use of Wolbachia as a possible tool for controlling the spread of vector-borne diseases.

Keywords : Wolbachia; vector-borne diseases; dengue; malaria; endosymbiosis.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )