Compounds From Bacteria To Control Dengue

Chemicals from the bacteria that drive the female mosquitoes to lay eggs could help prevent the spread of diseases caused by mosquitoes such as dengue and yellow fever, according to researchers in the United States.

Coby Schal and colleagues at North Carolina State University have shown that female mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti species respond to simple fatty acids, such as tetradekanoat acid, and esters contained in the bacterial cell wall. The researchers plan to use stimulant-stimulants in stimulating female mosquitoes to spend more time on the water mixed with insecticides or biological control agents of insects.