In a groundbreaking move to combat the alarming surge of dengue cases across the Caribbean, two private companies have joined forces in an ambitious project aimed at curbing the spread of the deadly virus.
Orbit Services Partners Incorporation, a Barbados-registered firm, has entered into a strategic partnership with Verily, a San Francisco-based health technology company, to release specially bred mosquitoes with bacterium capable of blocking the dengue virus.
Fighting dengue through scientific collaboration
Orbit chairman Anthony Da Silva revealed that the two companies have been diligently working on this collaborative endeavor and have engaged with government officials in the Caribbean region.
Reports are that the companies have been meeting with government officials in the region as they hope to launch the project early next year, said Orbit chairman Anthony Da Silva.
Targeting high-risk Caribbean nations
The initiative aims to target several nations grappling with dengue outbreaks, including Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Maarten, St. Martin, Suriname, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.
Similar projects employing the Wolbachia bacterium have already yielded positive results in various parts of the world.
The process involves infecting mosquitoes with Wolbachia within a controlled laboratory environment and subsequently releasing them into the wild.
As these mosquitoes reproduce, they pass on the bacterium to their offspring, effectively preventing the dengue virus from replicating within the mosquitoes’ gut.
A three-year endeavor impacted by the pandemic
Da Silva emphasized that the partnership has been in the making for the past three years but encountered unexpected delays due to the global pandemic.
The proposal is currently pending approval from individual Caribbean nations, marking a critical step in the project’s progression.
Unprecedented dengue outbreak challenges the region
The Caribbean, along with the Americas, has witnessed an alarming surge in dengue cases this year, surpassing a grim milestone with over four million reported cases—the highest number recorded since the inception of dengue record-keeping in 1980.
