Dataset Information

Strategies for introducing Wolbachia to reduce transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.

ABSTRACT: Certain strains of the endosymbiont Wolbachia have the potential to lower the vectorial capacity of mosquito populations and assist in controlling a number of mosquito-borne diseases. An important consideration when introducing Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes into natural populations is the minimisation of any transient increase in disease risk or biting nuisance. This may be achieved by predominantly releasing male mosquitoes. To explore this, we use a sex-structured model of Wolbachia-mosquito interactions. We first show that Wolbachia spread can be initiated with very few infected females provided the infection frequency in males exceeds a threshold. We then consider realistic introduction scenarios involving the release of batches of infected mosquitoes, incorporating seasonal fluctuations in population size. For a range of assumptions about mosquito population dynamics we find that male-biased releases allow the infection to spread after the introduction of low numbers of females, many fewer than with equal sex-ratio releases. We extend the model to estimate the transmission rate of a mosquito-borne pathogen over the course of Wolbachia establishment. For a range of release strategies we demonstrate that male-biased release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes can cause substantial transmission reductions without transiently increasing disease risk. The results show the importance of including mosquito population dynamics in studying Wolbachia spread and that male-biased releases can be an effective and safe way of rapidly establishing the symbiont in mosquito populations.

SUBMITTER: Hancock PA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3082501 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Strategies for introducing Wolbachia to reduce transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.

Hancock Penelope A PA Sinkins Steven P SP Godfray H Charles J HC

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20110426 4

Certain strains of the endosymbiont Wolbachia have the potential to lower the vectorial capacity of mosquito populations and assist in controlling a number of mosquito-borne diseases. An important consideration when introducing Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes into natural populations is the minimisation of any transient increase in disease risk or biting nuisance. This may be achieved by predominantly releasing male mosquitoes. To explore this, we use a sex-structured model of Wolbachia-mosquito i ...[more]

PMID: 21541357

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Project description:BackgroundThe introduction of the bacterium Wolbachia (wMel strain) into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reduces their capacity to transmit dengue and other arboviruses. Evidence of a reduction in dengue case incidence following field releases of wMel-infected Ae. aegypti has been reported previously from a cluster randomised controlled trial in Indonesia, and quasi-experimental studies in Indonesia and northern Australia.Methodology/principal findingsFollowing pilot releases in 2015-2016 and a period of intensive community engagement, deployments of adult wMel-infected Ae. aegypti mosquitoes were conducted in Niterói, Brazil during 2017-2019. Deployments were phased across four release zones, with a total area of 83 km2 and a residential population of approximately 373,000. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of wMel deployments in reducing dengue, chikungunya and Zika incidence. An untreated control zone was pre-defined, which was comparable to the intervention area in historical dengue trends. The wMel intervention effect was estimated by controlled interrupted time series analysis of monthly dengue, chikungunya and Zika case notifications to the public health surveillance system before, during and after releases, from release zones and the control zone. Three years after commencement of releases, wMel introgression into local Ae. aegypti populations was heterogeneous throughout Niterói, reaching a high prevalence (>80%) in the earliest release zone, and more moderate levels (prevalence 40-70%) elsewhere. Despite this spatial heterogeneity in entomological outcomes, the wMel intervention was associated with a 69% reduction in dengue incidence (95% confidence interval 54%, 79%), a 56% reduction in chikungunya incidence (95%CI 16%, 77%) and a 37% reduction in Zika incidence (95%CI 1%, 60%), in the aggregate release area compared with the pre-defined control area. This significant intervention effect on dengue was replicated across all four release zones, and in three of four zones for chikungunya, though not in individual release zones for Zika.Conclusions/significanceWe demonstrate that wMel Wolbachia can be successfully introgressed into Ae. aegypti populations in a large and complex urban setting, and that a significant public health benefit from reduced incidence of Aedes-borne disease accrues even where the prevalence of wMel in local mosquito populations is moderate and spatially heterogeneous. These findings are consistent with the results of randomised and non-randomised field trials in Indonesia and northern Australia, and are supportive of the Wolbachia biocontrol method as a multivalent intervention against dengue, chikungunya and Zika.

Dataset Information

Strategies for introducing Wolbachia to reduce transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.

Publications

Strategies for introducing Wolbachia to reduce transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.

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