Amid the dengue epidemic, Ministry of Health opens biofactory for non-virus-transmitting mosquitoes

Brazil registered 131,900 probable cases of dengue in the last epidemiological week of April (week 16), which represents a 55% drop compared to the previous week, according to the Arbovirus Monitoring Panel of the Ministry of Health.

Even with the reduction, the number of probable cases of the disease this year is already more than double the number recorded last year: 1,649,144.

To date, 1,937 people have died from dengue fever in the country in 2024 and another 2,345 deaths are under investigation. The Federal District (8320.7) leads the list of the highest incidence coefficients — a rate that estimates the risk of cases occurring in a given population, considering 100 thousand inhabitants — with 234,400 probable cases. Next comes Minas Gerais (5795.3), with 1,190,280 probable cases and Paraná (3463.8), with 396,367 — all above the national coefficient, which is 1931.1.

To increase the fight against diseases caused by Aedes aegypti, on the afternoon of this Monday (29), the Wolbachia Method biofactory was inaugurated in Belo Horizonte, by the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the government of Minas Gerais and the city hall. . It will be managed by Fiocruz, in partnership with the World Mosquito Program (WMP), the institution that holds the patent for the technology.

The method consists of releasing mosquitoes Aedes aegyptii with the Wolbachia bacteria, which prevents the dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses from developing in the insect. From this, a new population of mosquitoes is created, all with the bacteria — called Wolbitos —, which are not genetically modified and do not transmit diseases.

The unit will be responsible for maintaining the complete mosquito cycle. The operation is expected to begin in 2025 and the production estimate is two million mosquitoes per week. In the first phase, the insects will be released in the city of Brumadinho and in 21 other municipalities in the Paraopeba River Basin.

Efficiency

The application of the Wolbachia Method in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, showed a reduction of 69.4% in dengue cases, 56.3% in chikungunya cases and 37% in Zika cases in the city, according to the Ministry of Health.

In parts of the capital of Minas Gerais, the technology had already been tested by releasing mosquitoes. The first stage, in the Venda Nova region, was completed in January 2021 and an expansion was completed in 2023. The new biofactory is located in the Gameleira neighborhood, west of the capital of Minas Gerais and has 4 thousand m².

The Government of Minas Gerais, the Public Ministry (MPMG), the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and the Public Defender’s Office (DPMG), as well as representatives from the Ministry of Health and the World Mosquito Program (WMP) participated in the completion ceremony of the work. Brazil/Fiocruz.