Science

Brazil's Wolbachia Mosquitoes: How They Fight Dengue

Brazil releases Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacterium that reduces - without eliminating - the mosquito's ability to tra…

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EXPANSION CONTINUES

Expansion Toward 40 Municipalities Continues

Wolbito do Brasil's stated ambition is to reach more than 40 municipalities by the end of 2026, with a Ministry of Health commitment to extend coverage to roughly 7 mill…

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BIOFACTORY OPENS

Wolbito do Brasil Biofactory Opens in Curitiba

A joint venture of the World Mosquito Program, Fiocruz and the Institute of Molecular Biology of Paraná opened what is described as the world's largest Wolbachia mosquit…

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SIX NEW MUNICIPALITIES; REC…

Six New Municipalities Begin Implementation; Brazil's Worst Dengue Year on Reco…

Brazil's Ministry of Health formally incorporated Wolbachia into its national dengue strategy as six additional municipalities began implementation. The same year, Brazi…

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PEER-REVIEWED NITERÓI RESUL…

Peer-Reviewed Niterói Results Published

A quasi-experimental study of four Niterói release zones (83 km², about 373,000 residents) found Wolbachia deployment associated with a 69% reduction in dengue, 56% in c…

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LARGE-SCALE DEPLOYMENT

Large-Scale Deployment Begins

Brazil moved from pilot-scale releases to large-scale deployment, reaching an estimated 3.2 million people across its initial municipalities - the point at which the pro…

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FIRST BRAZIL RELEASES

Brazil's First Wolbachia Releases

Following government approval and more than two years of community engagement and monitoring, Brazil conducted its first field releases of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes.…

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WORLD MOSQUITO PROGRAM FOUN…

World Mosquito Program Established

Building on earlier Australian field trials, the World Mosquito Program was established at Monash University to develop and scale the Wolbachia method globally as a not-…

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VIRUS-BLOCKING DISCOVERY

Wolbachia Shown to Block Dengue Replication

Researchers led by Professor Scott O'Neill published findings that Wolbachia could interfere with dengue virus replication inside Aedes aegypti - the scientific foundati…

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WOLBACHIA FIRST DESCRIBED

Wolbachia Bacteria First Identified

Wolbachia pipientis was first identified in the common house mosquito, Culex pipiens, by researchers Marshall Hertig and S. Burt Wolbach - decades before anyone linked i…

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