Dengue cases cut by at least a third in pilot project

PETALING JAYA: The number of dengue cases has dropped by at least 33% in areas where the Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitos were released, says the Health Ministry.

It said 28 high dengue burden localities had been picked for the pilot project in 2019.

Ten of the areas are in Selangor, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (seven), Penang (four), two each in Kelantan, Johor and Pahang as well as one in Melaka.

“Initial analysis shows that dengue cases have dropped by at least 33% in these localities two years after the project was launched.

“However, continuous evaluation is required to assess the effectiveness of the programme and its impact to avert dengue morbidity and mortality in the long term,” the ministry told The Star in a statement.

Since 2019, the authorities have released Aedes mosquitoes infected with the harmless Wolbachia bacteria into the wild at the selected localities as part of the government’s fight against dengue.

When Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes breed, they will pass the bacteria to the next generation.

Wild female mosquitoes cannot produce offspring after mating with male Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes, thus reducing the number of “bad mosquitoes”.