In 2022, the World Mosquito Program began work in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, to combat the growing threat of mosquito-borne diseases.
Dengue is endemic in Laos, with cases increasing during the warmer and wetter months. A year-round threat in the country, dengue cases reached more than 20,000 in 2024, with 11 dengue-related deaths. Dengue epidemics usually peak between May and October.
(Date updated April 2025)
ທ່ານກຳລັງຊອກຫາຂໍ້ມູນທີ່ເປັນພາສາລາວແມ່ນບໍ່?
ຮຽນຮູ້ເພີ້ມເຕີມກ່ຽວກັບວຽກຂອງພວກເຮົາທີ່ກຳລັງປະຕິບັດໃນ ສປປ ລາວ.
The World Mosquito Program, Lao PDR Ministry of Health and Save the Children International have joined forces to address the danger of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases including chikungunya in Laos.
The project sees Wolbachia mosquitoes – a safe, natural and effective method for preventing mosquito-borne diseases – released in the country’s dengue hotspots.
In 2025, the project will expand to cover approximately 60 km2 in all nine districts of the capital, Vientiane, and 24 km² in Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, Savannakhet and Champasack provinces. The new release sites will see more than 1.2 million people protected by WMP’s Wolbachia method.
This expanded program follows the successful deployment of Wolbachia mosquitoes in the Chanthabouly and Xaysettha districts of the capital, which helped protect 32 villages with a combined population of roughly 86,000 people. Releases concluded in August 2023, and public acceptance of the mosquito releases was 99%.
The AU$8.2 million program, funded by the Australian Government and the Gillespie Foundation, will help the Ministry of Health combat dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases, including Zika and chikungunya, in Lao PDR.
The approach is not an emergency measure but is a long term, self-sustaining solution to significantly reduce the risk of future outbreaks in high-risk areas. WMP's Wolbachia method is also compatible with other methods such as insecticides and vaccines.
Following many years of laboratory research and field trials with promising results, we have received widespread support from communities, governments and regulators around the world.
In our other project sites, long-term monitoring shows that Wolbachia is self-sustaining at high levels in our international project sites up to eight years after release. In areas where high levels of Wolbachia are present, we have not seen any dengue outbreaks.
Read stories from Laos
WMP Expands Dengue Prevention in Laos
The World Mosquito Program is expanding its revolutionary Wolbachia method across Laos, protecting over 1.2 million people from dengue, Zika and chikungunya in a groundbreaking initiative.
Factsheet
Project sites
In 2025, the project will expand to cover approximately 60 km2 in all nine districts of the capital, Vientiane, and 24 km² in Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, Savannakhet and Champasack provinces. The new release sites will see more than 1.2 million people protected by WMP’s Wolbachia method.
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