The World Mosquito Program is working in Vinh Luong to protect communities from mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.
After conducting laboratory studies to examine the impact of Wolbachia on dengue and chikungunya viruses in Vietnam, and engaging with the community to explain our Wolbachia method and gain their acceptance, we released Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes across Vinh Luong in 2018.
We are now evaluating both the levels of Wolbachia in the mosquito population and the impact of Wolbachia on the transmission of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.
Our analysis of disease data from local health authorities indicates there is lower dengue incidence in the release area than in the nearby urban centre of Nha Trang since completion of releases, whereas prior to releases these areas were highly comparable in their dengue epidemic cycles.
Since the signing of the project agreement in 2017 between Monash University and Vietnam’s National Institute of Hygiene & Epidemiology (NIHE), the project has engaged with the community to explain how the Wolbachia method works to prevent mosquito-borne diseases.
As always, community engagement is a critical part of the project. We needed to connect with people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, experiences and ages, and ability to access information. So, during early 2018, we worked to engage with different levels of the community through various media channels.
In Vinh Luong, public acceptance of the project (prior to release of mosquitoes) was 97 per cent.
We released Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes across the project areas in mid-2018 and we are now collecting data on the incidence of dengue and chikungunya in the proposed release areas.
The community has been enthusiastically supporting the project in Vinh Luong, with nearly 111 volunteers helping to release mosquitoes, host bug traps and promote the project.
Progress updates
We’ve been working with communities in Vietnam since 2017 to help prevent mosquito-borne diseases. Read our progress updates to see our latest news.