In Rio, rife with dengue, bacteria-infected mosquitoes are making a difference

By DIARLEI RODRIGUES and DIANE JEANTET
Associated Press

NITEROI (AP) — Since Rio de Janeiro declared a public health emergency after an outbreak of dengue fever last month, the city has ramped up testing capacities, opened up a dozen of dengue health centers and trained medical staff to attend the ever-growing needs of its population. But in Rio’s sister city of Niteroi, just across the Guanabara Bay, things are different. Home to about half a million people, Niteroi has had just 400 suspected cases of dengue so far this year, and its incidence rate per capita is one of the lowest in the state. Health officials credit a pilot program which breeds mosquitoes to carry a particular bacteria.