After the successful trial of using bacteria-bearing mosquitoes to prevent dengue fever outbreaks, the central province of Khanh Hoa will expand the method in more local areas.
Provincial authorities and the National Institute of Hygiene And Epidemiology have been working on a plan to release mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria into the wild environment to fight with dengue fever.
Wolbachia bacteria-bearing mosquitoes were used on Tri Ngyen Island in 2014
Under the plan, this year, this kind of mosquito will be released into Nha Trang City’s Vinh Truong, Phuoc Long, Vinh Phuoc and Vinh Tho wards.
Wolbachia bacteria-bearing mosquitoes were used on Tri Ngyen Island in 2014, some 2 kilometres from Nha Trang City to deal with dengue fever. Since then, no dengue fever cases have been reported on the island.
Following the positive results, Khanh Hoa Province has decided to expand the method to Nha Trang City.
Similar projects, which have been used in several foreign countries, including Australia, Indonesia, Brazil and Colombia, have also proved effective.
In 2016, Vietnam saw 106,300 dengue fever cases, including 36 deaths, according to the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health.
Wolbachia is a genus of bacteria which infects arthropod species, including a high proportion of insects, as well as some nematodes. It is one of the world's most common parasitic microbes and is possibly the most common reproductive parasite in the biosphere.
