Chinese virologists develop vaccine-carrying mosquitoes to immunise bats against rabies and Nipah
Researchers say new strategy deliberately prioritises biosafety
Vishwam Sankaran
Wednesday 11 March 2026
Chinese scientists have developed vaccine-carrying mosquitoes to bite and immunise bats against rabies, a new strategy that could help deter the jumping of pandemic-potential viruses from animals to humans.
Bats are infamous as reservoirs of viral pathogens like rabies and Nipah viruses, making them one of the key culprits for “spillover” events of viruses passing from a bat to a human.
While vaccinating bats may provide a way to deter spillovers, there are currently no efficient strategies to immunise the animals at large in the wild.
Researchers, however, caution that deploying such wildlife vaccines poses a trade-off between vaccine transmissibility and biosafety.
They warn that transmitting engineered viruses into wildlife populations may potentially affect ecosystems in unintended ways.
While ecological vaccines can offer the potential for high population coverage with minimal input, they may pose risks, including the possibility of the vaccine becoming virulent, they say.
LINK:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/bats-vaccine-rabies-nipah-mosquitoes-b2936189.html&
A box of 200 mosquitoes did the vaccinating in this malaria trial. That's not a joke!
by Max Barnhart
Volunteers for the trial put an arm over a box with hundreds of mosquitoes carrying a genetically modified malaria parasite. Here's why they did it that way — and why the trial holds promise.
LINK:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/17196/&
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
Apr. 20, 2024
For Everyone
What to know
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes spread viruses including dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.
Aedes aegypti are common throughout many areas of the United States.
Aedes aegypti can be genetically modified (GM) and used to control other Ae. aegypti in a community.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates use of GM mosquitoes. State and local authorities must approve release of GM mosquitoes.
LINK:https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/mosquito-control/genetically-modified-mosquitoes.html
