Simple testing of disease-carrying mosquitoes proves the presence of bio-pesticides

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a new diagnostic tool to quickly and cheaply determine whether mosquitoes belong to species that carry dangerous diseases such as Zika virus, dengue, chikungi or yellow fever. It can also determine whether the worm is in contact with a mosquito control strategy called Wolbachia.
Many of these diseases are spreading to previously uncommon areas," said Sanchita Bhadra, a research assistant in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and lead author of the paper. The
use a smartphone camera, a small 3D printing box and simple chemical tests to show whether the dead mosquito belongs to the Aedes aegypti mosquito species. The Aedes aegypti mosquito carries the Zika virus and other devastating viruses, harming about 100 million people worldwide each year. The species is also closely related to three times the number of mosquito-borne diseases in the United States since 2004.
the study was published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
, developed by scientists and students at UT Austin, also detected a biopesticide called Wolbachia, a bacteria that prevents mosquitoes from spreading disease. The Aedes aegypti mosquito has been found in 20 states around the world and in the United States, and scientists working at public health agencies have begun infecting mosquitoes by introducing bacteria into local mosquito populations to help curb the spread of the virus. (This net special draft)