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		</div><p>Scientists are to release mosquitoes in Colombia and Brazil carrying a bacteria which could &#8220;significantly reduce&#8221; the insects&#8217; ability to transmit viruses like Zika to humans.</p>
<p>New funding to tackle infectious diseases was announced at a conference in London on Wednesday with the British Government pledging around £360 million over the next four years on research.</p>
<p>Trials have shown in areas with large concentrations of mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia bacteria &#8220;there is no local transmission&#8221; of viruses, according to medical research charity the Wellcome Trust.</p>
<p>Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacteria present in 60% of insect species, is not naturally present in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes &#8211; the primary carriers of the Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses.</p>
<p>The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, and the Wellcome Trust are also part of an international donor coalition funding the Eliminate Dengue Programme.</p>
<p>Priti Patel, Secretary of State for International Development, said: &#8220;It is vital that the international research community works together to tackle devastating diseases, such as Zika and dengue.</p>
<p>&#8220;Wolbachia is a ground-breaking potential sustainable solution to reduce the impact of these outbreaks around the globe, including for the world&#8217;s poorest people.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mosquitoes with Wolbachia breed with local mosquitoes when released into an area, passing their bacteria on to offspring, creating a self-sustaining effect.</p>
<p>Within months, the majority of the insects carry Wolbachia which &#8220;significantly reduces the capacity of the mosquitoes to transmit viruses to humans,&#8221; the Wellcome Trust said.</p>
<p>Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates told The Associated Press: &#8220;We&#8217;ll know within a year, if these mosquitoes we&#8217;ve released, if they&#8217;re becoming common amongst the population.</p>
<p>&#8220;Then we&#8217;ll see simply by the number of people who get sick from either Zika or dengue.</p>
<p>&#8220;If those numbers come down quite substantially in these cities but not in other cities that&#8217;ll be the proof of this over a decade-long quest to use this intervention.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dr Mike Turner, of the Wellcome Trust, said: &#8220;This research is essential as it will help measure the health impact of the Wolbachia method in large urban areas, where these kinds of outbreaks can have such a devastating impact.&#8221;</p>
<p>Zika has been linked with birth mutations where babies are born with small heads and has become a global health concern in recent years, particularly in South America.</p>
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