SINGAPORE, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Singapore will release male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacterium in four additional areas, expanding the tropical city-state's anti-dengue program, a senior government official said on Friday.
The rollout, under Project Wolbachia, will take place from late January to March in new locations across central and eastern Singapore, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary said in a Facebook post.
The expansion will raise the program's coverage to about 740,000 households, he said. Singapore is on track to reach 800,000 households -- roughly half of all households nationwide -- by the end of 2026.
Project Wolbachia, launched in 2016, involves the regular release of male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia, a bacterium that occurs naturally in many insects but not in Aedes aegypti. When these males mate with wild female mosquitoes that do not carry Wolbachia, the eggs fail to hatch, gradually reducing mosquito populations over time.
The approach lowers the risk of dengue, as well as other illnesses spread by Aedes aegypti, including Zika and Chikungunya.
According to Singapore's National Environment Agency, the project has reduced dengue risk by more than 70 percent and cut mosquito populations by 80 to 90 percent at multiple sites. Residents living near release areas were found to be 45 percent less likely to contract dengue than those in areas without releases.
"Dengue remains a persistent threat across Singapore," Puthucheary said. "That's why we are taking a systematic, evidence-based approach and expanding Project Wolbachia progressively to different areas in Singapore." ■