Qa'dah 03, Oct 11, SPA -- Malaysia could be the first country in Asia to use genetically modified mosquitoes to battle a rise in dengue fever, government authorities said Monday. The program calls for genetically engineered male mosquitoes to be released into the wild that would mate with females and produce offspring that live shorter lives, thus curbing the population. Malaysian scientists say laboratory test trials have made them optimistic, according to a report of the Associated Press. «It is a pilot project, and hopefully it will work,» Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters on the sidelines of a World Health Organization conference in Malaysia. Dengue fever, spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is common in Asia and Latin America. Symptoms include high fever, joint pains and nausea, but in severe cases, it can lead to internal bleeding, liver enlargement, circulatory shutdown and death. There is no known cure or vaccine.
