By 2026, 50 % of all households in Singapore will be affected by the release of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes, according to Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu’s announcement on Monday ( Nov 25 ).
During the 8th Singapore International Dengue Workshop held at the Jen Hotel Tanglin, Ms Fu stated that the expanded transfer did reach 800,000 communities in Singapore and provide protection for areas at risk of significant dengue epidemics.
Since Project Wolbachia began in 2016, Singapore has gradually distributed Wolbachia flies throughout the nation.
Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry the Wolbachia germs are released under the scheme to partner with female Aedes flies. The produced eggs do n’t hatch.
Since they only consume plant juices like nectar, female mosquitoes do not bite and could spread disease.
From July 2022, the officials conducted a multi-site area study to assess the impact of the Wolbachia systems on dengue cases and cluster as well as its effects on the Aedes people.
The study’s assumption was announced on Monday by Ms. Fu.
According to the most recent findings from the multi-site industry study, Wolbachia-Aedes launch sites residents are about 75 % less likely to contract dengue because there is a reduction of Aedes aegypti mosquito populations of 80 to 90 %, according to her findings.
These results were in line with the earlier NEA tests ‘ results.
We’ve also found that people who reside in areas without produces were 47 % less likely to contract dengue than those who reside in areas without releases.
This overflow influence suggests that nearby communities also stand to gain from produces, she said.
Despite having a large foundation of dengue cases, reduced people resistance, and large mosquito numbers in some non-release areas, Ms. Fu noted that the expected mid-year surges in dengue cases in 2023 and 2024 were “largely subdued.”
” Wolbachia policy, along with solid and sustained community attention against mating, has good helped to avert large epidemics,” she said.
Our implementation strategies are now influenced by studies of mosquito behavior, and the integration of technology into production and release processes has increased our internal capacity by 40 percent over the mechanical procedure we started with, the minister continued.
” This decade-long funding in R& D ( research and development ) has been important for National to learn how to build the systems effectively and efficiently, and varieties a strong base for further weighting. “