By: AEOP Membership Council Member Josh Mirsky 

Sickness—there’s nothing good about it. Beyond the overall misery it brings, illness often comes with a range of unpleasant symptoms that can leave you drained and unable to carry out daily activities. Then come the doctor visits, the medications to pick up, and the uncertainty of when you’ll finally start feeling better. The human body is vulnerable to countless diseases, infections, and conditions, but thankfully, modern medicine offers numerous treatments to counteract them. Whether it’s medication, specialized treatment, vaccines, steroids, rest, or a combination of many approaches, we have developed ways to fight back against sickness. 

But recently, I started asking myself—why is our approach to illness almost always reactive rather than proactive? In other words, why do we live in a world of eight billion people, surrounded by infinite potential health threats, and simply accept that getting sick is inevitable? We wait until we’ve caught something before taking action. Sure, vaccines like the yearly flu shot exist, but even that is, in a way, a reactive measure—it was developed in response to devastating flu outbreaks of the past. Instead of focusing so much on treating illness after it strikes, shouldn’t we be doing more to prevent it in the first place? 

Now, you might be thinking, Why would I take action now against diseases I may never get? or How would I even go about that? These are valid questions, and they highlight the importance of choosing which illnesses to combat proactively. Some diseases may not be widespread or may only affect certain populations, making proactive measures impractical or unnecessary for everyone. But for others—especially those that are highly transmissible, deadly, or difficult to treat—taking preventive steps can be crucial. 

One of the best examples of an illness we should focus on proactively preventing is mosquito-borne diseases. Mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting some of the deadliest infections known to humankind, including malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus, West Nile virus, and chikungunya. These diseases affect millions of people every year, causing severe illness, long-term complications, and even death. Unlike many other illnesses that spread through direct human contact, mosquito-borne diseases depend on an external vector—mosquitoes. This means that stopping them at the source can be a highly effective strategy. 

One of the most promising breakthroughs in this proactive fight is a naturally occurring bacteria called Wolbachia. Scientists have discovered that when mosquitoes carry Wolbachia, it can block them from transmitting harmful viruses like dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. The bacteria don’t harm the mosquitoes themselves, but they effectively prevent the viruses from growing inside them, making it impossible for the insects to pass the disease on to humans.

What makes this approach so exciting is that it doesn’t require constant chemical spraying or genetic modification—it simply involves releasing Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into the wild, where they breed with the existing mosquito population. Over time, more and more mosquitoes carry Wolbachia, dramatically reducing disease transmission. This method has already been tested in real-world environments, with incredible results. In some areas where Wolbachia mosquitoes were released, cases of dengue fever dropped by over 75%. 

Unlike traditional solutions such as insecticides, to which mosquitoes can develop resistance over time, Wolbachia offers a long-term, sustainable way to curb mosquito-borne diseases without harming the environment. It’s a game-changer in public health—one that could save millions of lives, particularly in regions where these diseases are a constant threat. 

By supporting and expanding research like this, we can shift from reacting to illness after it happens to preventing it before it even begins. Instead of just hoping we don’t get sick, we can create a world where many diseases simply have no chance to spread in the first place.

Sources: 

“How It Works.” World Mosquito Program, www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/en/work/wolbachia-method/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.

“Reduced Pathogen Transmission by a Microorganism.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/groups/vector-control-advisory-group/summary-of-new-interventions-for-vector-control/reduced-pathogen-transmission-by-a-microorganism. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.