Mosquito trials raise hopes of defeating dengue

NHA TRANG, Vietnam - Hundreds dead in the Philippines, a threefold increase of cases in Vietnam, hospitals overrun in Malaysia, Myanmar and Cambodia: Dengue is ravaging Southeast Asia this year due in part to rising temperatures and low immunity to new strains.

But one group of scientists is rolling out trials to breed dengue-resistant bugs in a bid to tackle one of the world's leading mosquito-borne illnesses.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, but operating in 12 countries, the World Mosquito Program, or WMP, has pioneered a method where male and female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are infected with the disease-resistant Wolbachia bacteria before being released into the wild.