Successful introgression of wMel Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti populations in Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati.

Pacific Island countries have experienced periodic dengue, chikungunya and Zika outbreaks for decades. The prevention and control of these mosquito-borne diseases rely heavily on control of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which in most settings are the primary vector. Introgression of the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia pipientis (wMel strain) into Ae.

Establishment of Mel in mosquitoes and reduction of local dengue transmission in Cairns and surrounding locations in northern Queensland, Australia.

The Mel strain of has been successfully introduced into mosquitoes and subsequently shown in laboratory studies to reduce transmission of a range of viruses including dengue, Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Mayaro viruses that cause human disease. Here we report the entomological and epidemiological outcomes of staged deployment of across nearly all significant dengue transmission risk areas in Australia. The  Mel strain of   was backcrossed into the local   genotype (Cairns and Townsville backgrounds) and mosquitoes were released in the field by staff or via community assisted methods.

Scaled deployment of to protect the community from dengue and other transmitted arboviruses.

: A number of new technologies are under development for the control of mosquito transmitted viruses, such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika that all require the release of modified mosquitoes into the environment. None of these technologies has been able to demonstrate evidence that they can be implemented at a scale beyond small pilots. Here we report the first successful citywide scaled deployment of in the northern Australian city of Townsville.

Infection with the wMel and wMelPop strains of Wolbachia leads to higher levels of melanization in the hemolymph of Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila simulans and Aedes aegypti.

Introduction of the life-shortening strain of Wolbachia pipientis, wMelPop, into the key dengue vector, Aedes aegypti, and the anti-pathogen effects in Wolbachia-infected hosts highlights the need for more research into its interactions with its original host, Drosophila melanogaster, and the novel mosquito host. The visual difference in darkness between the eggs of wMelPop Wolbachia-infected and uninfected mosquito hosts after egg deposition led to further investigation into melanization levels of the insects. Both D.