Indonesia Intended To Produce “Good” Mosquitoes In Order To Fight Dengue

Due to local opposition, the Indonesian government decided to postpone its plan to release 200 million genetically modified mosquitoes in order to battle dengue. These Aedes aegypti mosquitoes would have had Wolbachia, a type of bacteria that stops viruses like dengue from developing within them, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Critics have cautioned that the pilot study is not strong enough to support the introduction of the new species. The lab-bred mosquitoes were supposed to be released in dengue fever “red zones” in the city of Yogyakarta in mid-November. According to SCMP, a spokeswoman for the Indonesian health ministry named Siti Nadia Tarmizi said, “We are currently discussing with the Bali Provincial Government to temporarily delay the release of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes and conduct further public dissemination until the community is prepared.” 60% of insect species, including some mosquitoes, fruit flies, moths, dragonflies, and butterflies, natively harbor the common bacteria Wolbachia. Nonetheless, it is absent from Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit dengue. The study was started by the non-governmental organization World Mosquito Program (WMP), which stated that their goal was to create “good” mosquitoes by mating dengue-carrying mosquitoes with lab-injected Wolbachia mosquitoes. The Yogyakarta program was supposed to be introduced by the government in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Bali, Semarang, Bandung, and Jakarta in Java. According to the SCMP research, this kind of pilot program has been implemented for 8.6 million people across 12 countries. As per the Center for Tropical Medicine at Gajah Mada University, “a 77.1% reduction in dengue incidence in Wolbachia-treated communities” was observed in the 2011 study. Critics countered that the limited sample size in the Indonesian city—roughly 4,500 people—meant that it would be difficult to determine whether or not the experiment is successful.