Question 4 from UPSC CSE 2023 - Current Affairs

Question

The 'Wolbachia method' is sometimes talked about with reference to which one of the following?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: A. Controlling the viral diseases spread by mosquitoes

Strategy: - Focus on the biological agent 'Wolbachia'.
- Associate 'Wolbachia' with mosquito-borne disease control, not agriculture, plastics, or biomass processes.
- Eliminate options related to plant, industrial, or thermochemical processing, as they do not involve this bacterium.

Key Info: Wolbachia is a genus of intracellular bacteria.
- It is commonly found in many insect species, but not naturally in *Aedes aegypti* mosquitoes, which are primary vectors for viral diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever.

### The 'Wolbachia Method'
- This method involves artificially introducing Wolbachia into mosquito populations.
- Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes exhibit a reduced ability to transmit viruses to humans because the bacteria hinder viral replication within the mosquito.
- Public health initiatives, such as the World Mosquito Program, utilize this method for sustainable reduction of mosquito-borne viral diseases.

### Application Approaches
Methods often include 'population replacement' or 'population suppression':
- **Population Replacement:** Involves replacing wild mosquito populations with Wolbachia-infected ones.
- **Population Suppression:** Achieved by releasing Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes; when these males mate with uninfected females, the resulting eggs are nonviable, leading to a reduction in mosquito populations.

### Safety and Irrelevant Applications
- Wolbachia poses no direct health risk to humans or animals.
- It is not associated with processes like converting crop residues, producing bioplastics, or making biochar; it is not used in materials science or agricultural waste transformation.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option B: Converting crop residues into packing material

IASCODEX · Answer

Option C: Producing biodegradable plastics

IASCODEX · Answer

Option D: Producing biochar from thermochemical conversion of biomass