Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2018-01-09

Implementation of a pilot project to control the Dengue mosquitoes through the introduction of the 'Wolbachia' bacteria with the assistance of the Government of Australia

- Dengue has emerged as one of the key public health challenges in Sri Lanka and during the last two decades, it has reached epidemic proportions. Although several preventive measures were taken, the disease has cost more than 400 human lives in Sri Lanka in the year 2017. The necessity to prevent and control dengue by the use of more efficient and an environmental friendly bio-control strategy has been identified due to the existing deficiencies in the prevention of Dengue which is transmitted by 'Aedes aegypti' through traditional methods.

The University of Monash in Australia has successfully experimented the possibility of using 'Wolbachia' bacterium in order to prevent the transmission of the dengue virus. The bacterium prevents the dengue virus growing inside the body of the dengue mosquito to a level which would transmit the disease. The system has already been successfully implemented in Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brazil and Colombia. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. (Dr.) Rajitha Senaratne, the Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, to implement a project for using 'Wolbachia Bacterium' as a long term dengue preventive measure in Sri Lanka, in the selected areas of Colombo district as a pilot project, under the Australian grant, was approved by the Cabinet.