Applying Ecology to Control Disease

Insects are the solution, not the problem

Vacunax combats vector-borne diseases through a form of paratransgenesis—a targeted, nature-compatible form of biological control that exploits the unique qualities of the insect immune system.

Virus Blocking Symbiont

We begin by identifying the genetic and biological factors that enable viruses to infect, replicate, and spread between species. Using this knowledge, we engineer a harmless host-restricted (HR) symbiont virus which we permanently sustain within insect vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks. These persistently infected insects are the basis of our ArboShield™ technology.

• Only Sustained in Insects: HR-symbionts are genetically engineered to only replicate effectively in insects. They are replication-defective in mammals, ensuring complete safety for humans, livestock, and other animals.

• Induces "Immunity" in insects: When insects such as mosquitoes are "vaccinated" with HR-symbionts, the insects become resistant to subsequent infection by pathogenic arboviruses of the same family through the natural phenomenon of Superinfection Exclusion (SIE). This turns the HR-symbiont infected insect from a disease vector into a biological dead end for the pathogenic viruses.

Creating ArboShield™ Insects

By inoculating insects, like mosquitos, with the HR-symbionts we create ArboShield™, a population of insects that can be deployed to geographic areas where disease outbreak is occurring to act as an ecological "firewall" that disrupts disease transmission. Learn more about how ArboShield™ works:

Vacunax takes advantage of two key insect qualities:

• Physiological: Insect viruses can be persistently sustained both vertically (parent to an offspring) and horizontally (between organisms) in the mosquito lifecycle.

• Immunological: Persistently infected insects are “immune” to a second infecting virus of the same family, a phenomenon known as “superinfection exclusion”.