Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Background : A number of new technologies are under development for the control of mosquito transmitted viruses, such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika that all require the release of modified mosquitoes into the environment. None of these technologies has been able to demonstrate evidence that they can be implemented at a scale beyond small pilots. Here we report the first successful citywide scaled deployment of Wolbachia in the northern Australian city of Townsville. Methods : The w Mel strain of Wolbachia was backcrossed into a local Aedes aegypti genotype and mass reared mosquitoes were deployed as eggs using mosquito release containers (MRCs). In initial stages these releases were undertaken by program staff but in later stages this was replaced by direct community release including the development of a school program that saw children undertake releases. Mosquito monitoring was undertaken with Biogents Sentinel (BGS) traps and individual mosquitoes were screened for the presence of Wolbachia with a Taqman qPCR assay. Dengue case notifications from Queensland Health Communicable Disease Branch were used to track dengue cases in the city before and after release. Results : Wolbachia was successfully established into local Ae. aegypti mosquitoes across 66 km 2 in four stages over 28 months with full community support. A feature of the program was the development of a scaled approach to community engagement. Wolbachia frequencies have remained stable since deployment and to date no local dengue transmission has been confirmed in any area of Townsville after Wolbachia has established, despite local transmission events every year for the prior 13 years and an epidemiological context of increasing imported cases. Conclusion : Deployment of Wolbachia into Ae. aegypti populations can be readily scaled to areas of ~60km 2 quickly and cost effectively and appears in this context to be effective at stopping local dengue transmission
Source: Gates Open Research
Authors: Scott L. O'Neill, Peter A. Ryan, Andrew P. Turley, Geoff Wilson, Kate Retzki, Inaki Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Yi Dong, Nichola Kenny, Christopher J. Paton, Scott A. Ritchie, Jack Brown-Kenyon, Darren Stanford, Natalie Wittmeier, Nicholas P. Jewell, Stephanie K. Tanamas, Katherine L. Anders, Cameron P. Simmons
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $944
Funders: Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Queensland Health, Wellcome Trust, Queensland Government, National Institutes of Health, Medical Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Awards: Statistical Design and Analysis of Cluster Randomized Test-Negative Designs: Studies to Eliminate Dengue Fever, Modernizing mosquito control, G4633540752, Monash University - to contribute a sustainable and cost-effective new tool for preventing transmission of dengue virus, which is estimated to threaten the health of a..., Development of Wolbachia as an effective and sustainable approach to reduce dengue transmission., Development of Wolbachia as an effective and sustainable approach to reduce dengue transmission., G848329853
OpenAlex ID: W2887096161