The municipality started a new release of wolbitos—mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacteria. The microorganisms are used to combat arboviruses such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, as they prevent the viruses that cause these diseases from developing inside their main carrier.
Brazil’s Ministry of Health has confirmed the circulation of all four dengue serotypes in the country. Serotype 1 is currently the predominant strain.
Research foundation Fiocruz has signed a deal with the World Mosquito Program to expand the use of Wolbachia bacteria against these diseases, which are transmitted through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
Releasing them with the bacteria helps fight dengue and chikungunya, the study says. In northern Rio, 67 million mosquitoes were released from Aug. 2017–Dec. 2019.
This number represents practically twice the number of deaths reported in the whole of last year, according to data from the Epidemiological Bulletin released by the Ministry of Health.
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