Questions raised over halted Wolbachia dengue project

Colombo, June 23 (Daily Mirror) - Questions have been raised over the fate of Sri Lanka’s pilot project involving the use of Wolbachia bacteria to control dengue, with specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa claiming that the initiative was discontinued despite its potential benefits.

Dr. Sanjeewa, Chairman of the Doctors' Trade Union Alliance for Medical and Civil Rights, said several countries had invested heavily in Wolbachia-based dengue control programmes and achieved successful results, but Sri Lanka’s efforts had reportedly stopped midway.

He said Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacterium, helps control dengue transmission by reducing the ability of the Aedes aegypti mosquito to spread the virus and by limiting mosquito populations.

According to him, the method has been successfully used in countries including Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico and India.

Dr. Sanjeewa said Sri Lanka had also initiated pilot projects using the technology on several occasions, but those programmes were halted due to various pressures before reaching full implementation.

He noted that countries using Wolbachia had recorded mosquito population reductions of more than 70%, helping them bring dengue outbreaks under control.

Explaining the science behind the method, he said the bacterium survives only inside mosquitoes and does not harm humans or the environment. It multiplies within the mosquito and affects the insect’s ability to support dengue virus development.

The doctor also pointed out that several countries are now adopting modern approaches to dengue prevention, including new technologies and vaccination programmes for children.

He added that Cuba had implemented successful community-based dengue-control campaigns, including door-to-door efforts to eliminate mosquito breeding sites.

Dr. Sanjeewa said although similar modern dengue-control strategies had been discussed in Sri Lanka, many had remained only as proposals without being put into practice.