It was shortly after noon on 25 January 2019 when 11.7 million cubic metres of mining waste - enough to fill almost 5,000 Olympic swimming pools - came hurtling down towards the small municipality of Brumadinho, home to roughly 37,000 people. The dam, owned by mining company Vale, collapsed at the Córrego de Feijão site, sending toxic mud surging more than five miles downhill. Crushing homes, offices and people in its path, the mud reached the Paraopeba River, threatening areas downstream with...

The facility is currently exclusively used by the Ministry of Health (MOH), which has incorporated Wolbachia as one of its national strategies for combatting mosquito-borne diseases. The growing national demand is extremely high, and the MOH hopes to reach more than 140 million people across 40 municipalities with high dengue rates, in the coming years. In the next room, production coordinators Marlene Salazar and Luciane Martins are overseeing the egg production process. For Marlene, it has...

Tamila Kleine was just days into her new job combatting mosquito-borne diseases when she suffered from dengue. “As soon as I joined the project, I got dengue,” she says. “I contracted the disease and I could feel on my own skin how bad this really is.” For Tamila, the symptoms were familiar. She had spent years working both on dengue research and more broadly focusing on zoonotic diseases in the city of Joinville, in southern Brazil’s Santa Catarina state. “The danger of this disease and t...

Earlier this year, Wolbito do Brasil, the world’s largest biofactory breeding Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia, began production. It marked a major new milestone in Brazil’s fight against mosquito-borne diseases, helping dramatically expand access across the country to Wolbachia mosquitoes, a nature-based disease control method. One scientist who has been pivotal to the success of this programme is Luciano Moreira, who not only co-discovered Wolbachia’s ability to significantly reduce...

In southern Brazil's Joinville, health agents battle mosquito-borne diseases with an innovative approach. The city's second phase of Wolbachia mosquito releases now protects nearly 75 per cent of residents, following first-phase results that showed a 90 per cent reduction in dengue cases. From early morning releases to biofactory operations, the programme brings hope to communities that have suffered devastating outbreaks. Even by Joinville standards, the frenetic rain is biblical today. Ofte...

For Noel Maciel Junior, dengue fever isn't just a public health statistic - it's personal. The business manager has watched friends lose their lives to the disease whilst others struggled to find hospital beds during outbreaks. As he manages his artisan coffee house, Torrefação Joinville - Cafés Nobres, in the heart of the city, Noel has witnessed first-hand how mosquito-borne diseases have devastated his community. But now, thanks to our Wolbachia method, there's renewed hope in "The City of Fl...

In Joinville, Brazil, endemic control agent Lúcia Jordan releases Wolbachia mosquitoes four days a week as part of an expanding effort to combat dengue. After surviving the disease herself, she now helps protect nearly 75 per cent of her city's 600,000 residents. Early results show dramatic impact, with dengue deaths dropping to zero following our Wolbachia method deployment. “While I am releasing the mosquitoes, I feel happy,” says Lúcia Jordan. “Because to me it is as if I am saving lives —...

World Mosquito Day 2025 - A global health crisis Written by: Alex Jackson | Published on: 11 August 20225 On August 20, 1897, a British doctor made a groundbreaking discovery. Sir Ronald Ross found the malaria parasite in the stomach of a female Anopheles mosquito, providing the first evidence that mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans. To commemorate this moment in history, World Mosquito Day was founded. Each year, World Mosquito Day presents us with an opportunity to raise awa...

The fight against dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases reaches a new milestone in Brazil. Wolbito do Brasil, the world's largest biofactory breeding Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia, officially launched this week to combat mosquito-borne diseases. It will dramatically expand access across Brazil to Wolbachia mosquitoes, a nature-based disease control method that has significantly reduced the incidence of dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya, in Rio de Janeiro and Niterói since the meth...

Kiribati is intensifying its fight against mosquito-borne diseases like dengue by expanding the World Mosquito Program’s Wolbachia method. This community-supported public health initiative is especially vital as climate change and insecticide resistance escalate disease risks across the Pacific. The project aims to protect nearly 45,000 people in South Tarawa. Mosquito-Borne Diseases on the Rise in the Pacific In a sea of blue and white banners, balloons and posters, a group of young dance...

In Dili, Timor-Leste's coastal capital, dengue fever has devastated families like Elsa Pinto's for years. But a groundbreaking collaboration between the World Mosquito Program and local partners is set to change this narrative. By introducing Wolbachia mosquitoes—a safe, natural solution—to the region, this initiative aims to protect 240,000 people from dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases, offering renewed hope to a community long plagued by preventable suffering. Elsa Fernandes Pinto re...

Dengue fever has long been a persistent threat across Southeast Asia, with Laos particularly affected by seasonal outbreaks that devastate communities. Building on successful initial releases, the World Mosquito Program is now entering the second phase of its work in Laos, expanding its innovative Wolbachia method across Vientiane. Through collaboration with the Lao PDR Ministry of Health and Save the Children International, this sustainable approach aims to protect over 1.2 million people from...

New Caledonia's successful implementation of the World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method has eliminated dengue epidemics across the territory since 2019. We explore how strategic partnerships between government, scientific institutions and local communities created a sustainable solution that has protected residents while delivering significant economic benefits to this South Pacific archipelago. Naporapoe Kawonion Rose vividly recalls the day she came down with dengue symptoms in her villa...

Wolbachia releases bring hope to Cali in worst year on record for dengue fever worldwide In the sizzling salsa capital of the world, there is a hypnotic rhythm and vibrant authenticity which makes Santiago de Cali, known simply as Cali, such a unique and absorbing tropical metropolis. Colombia’s third-most populous city is located between the Western and Central mountain ranges of the Andes — in the valley of the Cauca River — roughly 1,000 metres above sea level. Founded by the Spanish in...

While surging dengue transmission in 2024 has seen case numbers creep up also in Niterói, the 1,754 cases recorded so far this year are dramatically lower than historical outbreaks. "This year has provided the litmus test,” adds Anders. “To see dengue incidence remain low in Niterói while dengue is inflicting a public health emergency on so much of Brazil and the region really highlights the extraordinary impact that Wolbachia is having in preventing illness and deaths and protecting heal...

STUNNINGLY located amid a backdrop of epic volcanoes, tea plantations and the surrounding Parahyangan (Land of God) Highlands, Bandung has the envy of many cities for its dramatic natural grandeur. The capital of Indonesia’s West Java province, nicknamed Paris van Java, is known for its colonial and art deco architecture and tree-lined streets, revered for its cultural tapestry, and popular for its many fashion outlets. However, a dark shadow has also hung over Bandung in recent years. The city has one of the highest annual number of dengue cases across Indonesia.

For the past six months, Mauricio Antonio Torres has had a fairly unique routine. Every morning, the 35-year-old wakes up, dons his navy blue World Mosquito Program t-shirt and baseball hat, says goodbye to his wife and daughters, and heads for his motorbike. Torres, with his wide grin and hugely positive demeanour, joins roughly 27 other mosquito release technicians, who each have distributed routes throughout Santa Ana, San Sebastián Saltrillo, and Chalchuapa. Loading their wide Wolbachia mosquito-filled backpacks and checking an app to see which area or release points they will head to today, they await final instructions from a supervisor. Using containers, they then release Wolbachia mosquitoes at approximately 120-130 points throughout the morning.

Once a month, Norma Nájera and her niece wake up in pitch darkness and prepare for their four-hour bus journey ahead. From their hometown of San Sebastián Salitrillo to the hustle and bustle of El Salvador’s capital city, San Salvador, they set off at 3am, with the hope of making their routine 7am appointment at Benjamin Bloom's Children Hospital. Nájera says she spends a large chunk of her income on the return journey and more than often they arrive late due to congested traffic. It is an exhausting day by all accounts, but a familiar story since both suffered from Chikungunya.

With his long curled hair, flat cap and bright shirt, Bhega Silva cuts a distinct figure. However, as he weaves through the narrow alleys of his Complexo da Maré community on his bike, it is a large stuffed mosquito toy strapped to a container which piques the interest of curious passers-by.

El Salvador’s war on dengue María Eugenia Viana proudly adorns the bright yellow walls of her home with family photos. Alongside a motorcycle-themed wall planner, hanging guitar and decorations, are all her favourite memories immaculately framed, with each of her seven children, six children-in-law, and 10 grandchildren taking centre stage. The 58-year-old has lived in the verdant San Marcelino Las Flores, in the small central American nation of El Salvador, for more than 27 years, and has seen mosquito-borne diseases including dengue and Zika sweep through the heart of her community regularly.