DILI, 06 april 2022 (TATOLI) – The National Director of Timor-Leste’s Public Health, Frederico Bosco has revealed that the Government of Timor-Leste, through the Ministry of Health would cooperate with the Government of Australia to introduce Mosquitoes with Wolbachia in Timor-Leste to control and reduce the numbers of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Aedes aegypti is a kind of mosquito known for spreading viruses including dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.
Bosco informed that Australia was one of the countries in Asia to successfully use mosquitoes with Wolbachia to control dengue.
Wolbachia (wohl-bach-ee-uh) is a common type of bacteria found in insects. Approximately 6 in 10 of all types of insects, including butterflies, bees, and beetles, around the world, have Wolbachia. Wolbachia bacteria cannot make people or animals (for example, fish, birds, pets) sick, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States.
“We will breed our local mosquito with Wolbachia bacteria from Australia. And then we will bring them back to breed them with Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that spread viruses including dengue, Zika, and chikungunya,” he stressed.
So far, 11 countries have successfully implemented this kind of prevention and control strategy to counter the dengue virus: “For instance, prior to the implementation of this method, the number of hospitalizations of patients with dengue was high in Indonesia. However, after the implementation of this program in 2016, the number of dengue cases decreased dramatically in the following years.”
He stressed that MoH would be working closely with the Menzies Australia, and World Mosquito Program led by Monash University in Australia to share related information and knowledge on the preparation process for the implementation of this prevention and control strategy to combat dengue in Timor-Leste.
“It’s a new method and if we work harder, then I can assure you that we will implement this program next year,” he added.
How mosquitoes with Wolbachia are used to control Ae. aegypti mosquitoes:
- Wolbachia bacteria are not found in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes.
- Scientists introduced Wolbachia into Ae. aegypti mosquito eggs.
- When male Ae. Aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia mate with wild female mosquitoes that do not have Wolbachia, the eggs will not hatch.
- Male mosquitoes with Wolbachia are released regularly into an area by mosquito control professionals.
- Male mosquitoes with Wolbachia mate with wild female mosquitoes.
- Because the eggs don’t hatch, the number of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes decrease.
France 24 reported that according to a report by an international research team, dengue infections appear to be dropping fast in communities in Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, and Australia that are buzzing with specially bred mosquitoes.
Bosco concluded that scientists infected the mosquitoes with Wolbachia, aiming to block their ability to transmit viruses. Wolbachia is a naturally occurring bacteria that is harmless to people and carried by 60 percent of insect species including fruit flies, dragonflies, and moths.
In the past three months, dengue has claimed 50 lives in Timor-Leste, including 3959 cases.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Rafy Belo
