New Technique Developed to Turn Mosquitoes into "Flying Syringes" to Vaccinate Bats

Chinese researchers created a vaccine-delivery platform that uses mosquitoes and saltwater traps to vaccinate bats against zoonotic pathogens.

They modified vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) to express rabies- and Nipah-virus proteins as vaccine candidates.

Mosquitoes fed the vaccine were sterilized by 40 Gy X‑ray to prevent breeding, and the vaccine did not transmit between mosquitoes or to offspring.

In mice and bats, exposure to vaccine-carrying mosquitoes or oral saltwater dosing induced protective antibody levels and high survival; immune responses were also confirmed in golden Syrian hamsters.

Field work in Guangdong and trials with saltwater-mist traps in a Beijing cave showed bats eat mosquitoes and tetracycline was detected in bat guano; regulatory and safety challenges remain for practical use.