Introduction of mosquitoes carrying AlbB sharply decreases dengue incidence in disease hotspots.

Partial replacement of resident mosquitoes with introduced mosquitoes carrying certain strains of inherited symbionts can result in transmission blocking of dengue and other viruses of public health importance. strain AlbB is an effective transmission blocker and stable at high temperatures, making it particularly suitable for hot tropical climates. Following trial field releases in Malaysia, releases using AlbB have become operationalized by the Malaysian health authorities.

Spatial Distribution and Long-Term Persistence of -Infected in the Mentari Court, Malaysia.

Dengue is endemic in Malaysia, and vector control strategies are vital to reduce dengue transmission. The strain AlbB carried by both sexes of was released in Mentari Court, a high-rise residential site, in October 2017 and stopped after 20 weeks. frequencies are still being monitored at multiple traps across this site, providing an opportunity to examine the spatiotemporal distribution of and mosquito density with respect to year, residential block, and floor, using spatial interpolation in ArcGIS, GLMs, and contingency analyses.

strain AlbB maintains high density and dengue inhibition following introduction into a field population of .

mosquitoes carrying the AlbB strain show a reduced capacity to transmit dengue virus. AlbB has been introduced into wild populations in several field sites in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where it has persisted at high frequency for more than 2 years and significantly reduced dengue incidence. Although these encouraging results indicate that AlbB releases can be an effective dengue control strategy, the long-term success depends on AlbB maintaining high population frequencies and virus transmission inhibition, and both could be compromised by host coevolution in the field.

Characterization of Sodium Channel Mutations in the Dengue Vector Mosquitoes and within the Context of Ongoing Releases in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Specific sodium channel gene mutations confer target site resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in mosquitoes and other insects. In mosquito species, multiple mutations that contribute to resistance vary in their importance around the world. Here, we characterize voltage sensitive sodium channel () mutations in populations of from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and look at their persistence in populations affected by ongoing releases (a dengue control measure).

An elusive endosymbiont: Does occur naturally in ?

are maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria found within many insect species. mosquitoes experimentally infected with are being released into the field for borne disease control. These infections induce cytoplasmic incompatibility which is used to suppress populations through incompatible matings or replace populations through the reproductive advantage provided by this mechanism.

Establishment of Wolbachia Strain wAlbB in Malaysian Populations of Aedes aegypti for Dengue Control.

Dengue has enormous health impacts globally. A novel approach to decrease dengue incidence involves the introduction of Wolbachia endosymbionts that block dengue virus transmission into populations of the primary vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The wMel Wolbachia strain has previously been trialed in open releases of Ae.

Detection of Wolbachia in Aedes albopictus and Their Effects on Chikungunya Virus.

Wolbachia-based vector control strategies have been proposed as a means to augment the currently existing measures for controlling dengue and chikungunya vectors. Prior to utilizing Wolbachia as a novel vector control strategy, it is crucial to understand the Wolbachia-mosquito interactions. In this study, field surveys were conducted to screen for the infection status of Wolbachia in field-collected Aedes albopictus The effects of Wolbachia in its native host toward the replication and dissemination of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was also studied.