Scientists turn mosquitoes ‘into a vaccination tool’ to immunise bats against rabies
The insects are being designed to spread vaccines instead of disease
Mosquitoes typically spread disease, rather than prevent it, but Chinese scientists have proposed using the insects as an unlikely vector to deliver vaccines to bats.
In a study published in Science Advances journal, researchers designed mosquitoes which carry an immunisation for rabies and Nipah viruses within their saliva. This is transferred when bats eat insects, or the insects feed on the bats.
The proposal would solve a question many have grappled with: how do you vaccinate a flying mammal, which often roosts in caves in with millions of others, without exposing yourself to the diseases they carry?
Some consider this an important circle to square because bats host a wide range of dangerous pathogens – from Nipah and rabies to Ebola and some coronaviruses. As people encroach on their habitats, there are concerns that diseases are increasingly jumping into people and livestock. Vaccination could help to reduce transmission risk.