use of altered male mosquitoes to dec dengue transmission
a recent study found that mating Aedes aegypti female mosquitoes that can carry dengue virus with Wolbachia-infected males dramatically decreased human dengue infections (see dengue mosquitos infected with other dec dengue transmission in dropbox, or DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2503304) Details : -- this study in Singapore, a tropical city-state, was designed to make female A. aegypti mosquitoes infertile by releasing male infected with the wAlbB strain of wolbachia bacteria, in 2022 during weeks 30 to 37. The trial was concluded in week 37 in 2024. (these weeks were considered to be "epidemiologic weeks" to compare data over time without calendar date fluctuations) -- this was a cluster-randomized trial with test-negative controls performed in 15 geographic population clusters. All clusters were in urban areas; 8 clusters received deployments of male wolbachia-infected mosquitoes (intervention clusters) and 7 clusters received no deployments (contr...