SYDNEY, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- An Australian biocontrol program that uses bacteria to infect and control mosquitoes spreading dengue and other major infections has yielded success citywide and is set for expansion, according to a latest research released on Wednesday.
The technology, which introduces the naturally occurring bacteria Wolbachia into Aedes mosquitoes to reduce their ability to transmit dengue, Zika and chikungunya, was used "cost effectively at citywide scale, stopping local dengue transmission" across the northern Australian city of Townsville in the first deployment of its kind, Monash University said in a statement highlighting its program on Wednesday.
"We're delighted the data shows there has been no locally transmitted dengue over the last four rainy seasons, since Wolbachia was established in the targeted release areas," said the program's director Professor Scott O'Neill, who also led a report on the findings published on the Gates Open Research peer-review platform.
The Townsville trial, at a cost of about 15 Australian dollars (11.13 U.S. dollars) per person, "demonstrates the approach can be rolled out quickly, efficiently and cost effectively to help provide communities ongoing protection from mosquito-borne diseases" and it is "on track to advance large city deployments" at further reduced costs, said O'Neill.
The study also showed that the release of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes was acceptable to communities, he said.
"We believe our approach will be suitable for other cities, with appropriate local adaptation, and provides a framework for scaling-up our deployment, globally."
Dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses are transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and they are widespread across areas including Asia and South America.
Under the latest biocontrol program, male and female Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes are released to breed with local mosquitoes, passing on the ability to block the harmful viruses, according to the university.
The method is "self-sustaining and cost-effective, as once Wolbachia has established in an area there is no need for further mosquito releases," it said.
