Singapore has taken its fight against dengue fever to the next level with a significant expansion of its Wolbachia program. This initiative involves releasing male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes into specific areas to suppress the population of disease-carrying mosquitoes.
The expansion was announced by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng, targeting five new residential zones in the southern part of the country—Bukit Merah – Telok Blangah, Clementi – West Coast, Commonwealth, Holland, and Marine Parade – Mountbatten. The areas were strategically selected based on historical dengue risk, mosquito population, and the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) production capacity for these mosquitoes.
This move is set to boost the coverage of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes from 26% to 35% of all households in Singapore, encompassing public housing and landed estates. Scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2024, the releases aim to curb dengue transmission by interrupting the reproduction of Aedes mosquitoes.
Under Project Wolbachia, male mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria are released to mate with female Aedes mosquitoes, resulting in eggs that do not hatch, ultimately reducing the population of disease-transmitting mosquitoes. NEA’s efforts have yielded promising results, with dengue mosquito populations in selected study sites seeing a reduction exceeding 90%. Residents in these areas who have benefitted from at least a year of releases were up to 77% less likely to be infected with dengue.
In addition to the Wolbachia program, NEA is utilizing data analytics and AI to optimize mosquito deployment to reduce the number of male mosquitoes required for effective dengue suppression.
Looking ahead, NEA is planning long-term strategies to fortify Wolbachia operations by engaging the industry to meet the capacity and requirements for an expanded program.
While the Wolbachia initiative shows significant potential for dengue control, NEA emphasizes the need for continued community efforts to combat mosquito breeding. Stay posted for more updates on this rapidly evolving program.
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