Government of Minas Gerais and Justice Institutions announce completion of work on the Wolbachia Method Biofactory, in Belo Horizonte

O Government of Minas Gerais, the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais (MPMG) and the Public Defender’s Office of Minas Gerais (DPMG) participated, this Monday (29/4), in the ceremony to conclude the work of the Wolbachia Method Biofactory, in Belo Horizonte. Representatives from the Ministry of Health and the World Mosquito Program (WMP) Brazil/Fiocruz and the Association of Relatives of Victims and Affected by the Dam Break in Brumadinho (Avabrum) were also present.

The Biofactory will be owned by the State of Minas Gerais, under the management of the State Department of Health (SES-MG).

“I am extremely pleased with the inauguration of work in this unit. The factory will have the capacity to produce 60 million mosquitoes per month and I am sure that, over time, we will have much better numbers with dengue”, said governor Romeu Zema, in relation to the method that consists of releasing Aedes aegypti with Wolbachia to the population (i.e., mosquitoes that do not transmit diseases).

“This factory will revolutionize the future of Minas Gerais. As this population of mosquitoes with Wolbachia grows, dengue numbers will fall over the years, thus avoiding overload on the health system and the suffering of many people. For me, it is a pleasure to see that the health of Minas Gerais is heading in the right direction”, he added.

The execution is an obligation of Vale SA and was carried out as part of the Judicial Agreement – signed by the parties Government of Minas, MPMG, Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and DPMG and the party Vale SA – which aims to repair the damages resulting from the breach of the mining company’s dams, in Brumadinho, which occurred in January 2019. The tragedy took the lives of 272 people and generated a series of social, economic and environmental impacts.

“All this achievement is thanks to the work of the entire State Secretariat for Planning and Management (Seplag), through the leadership of Secretary Luísa Barreto. Since January 25, 2019, when we had the tragedy in Brumadinho, the entire secretary team has worked hard so that we could be here at this moment”, reiterated the governor.

The Secretary of Planning and Management, Luísa Barreto, reaffirmed her commitment to always fight for the terms of reparation for the Brumadinho tragedy.

“Our commitment, as the Government of Minas, is not to repair the pain of those who lost a loved one in the Brumadinho tragedy, this is irreparable, but it is to seek within our actions, to bring important legacies to the state of Minas Gerais every day. Minas Gerais from this repair term. The legacy that remains here today is one of the most important, it is a legacy that will save many more lives, he said.

The works began in February 2023, on a 4 thousand square meter plot of land, in the Gameleira neighborhood. The facilities have laboratories and spaces for the administrative sector, and occupy a built area of ​​1,125 thousand square meters.

“This factory is modern and has a very large production capacity. We will work hard so that we can be a reference throughout Brazil. We are transforming a disaster into life. This demonstrates how committed we are to seeking prevention, health promotion and quality of life”, highlights the Secretary of State for Health, Fábio Baccheretti.

Representing the Association of Relatives of Victims and Affected by the Rupture of the Mina Córrego do Feijão Dam (Avabrum), Edi Aparecida Tavares Pinto, said that these actions for the health of the population, give relief to families who lost loved ones in the tragedy.

“We are aware that this reparation resource significantly covers the population. We are aware of the legacy left by our jewelry, and this brings us a little encouragement. Therefore, using money to invest in people’s preventive, physical and mental health, providing social actions that contribute to quality of life, generating employment and income and other relevant actions, are ways of seeking to re-signify the lives of many who were. We thank Governor Romeu Zema and the entire Government of Minas Gerais, for continuing the search for the other jewels”, he reported.

Start of operation

The Biofábrica project is being executed in two stages, totaling an investment of more than R$77 million:

• the construction of the building, with an investment of approximately R$20 million;
• and the operation stage, which foresees an investment of at least R$57 million.

In addition to the construction of the building, Vale SA equipped and furnished the unit – these steps rely on the socioeconomic audit of Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). The mining company will also pay for operations for five years.

After completion of the works, negotiations will also be finalized to obtain mandatory operating licenses and review contracts with Fiocruz, responsible for carrying out projects in Brazil that use the Wolbachia Method, patented by WMP. The operation is expected to begin by January 2025.

The estimate is that the Biofactory’s weekly production, after the start of activities, will be two million mosquitoes. Once inserted into the environment, they will reproduce with local Aedes aegypti and establish a population with Wolbachia, which prevents the dengue, zika and chikungunya viruses from developing and, thus, contribute to reducing the transmission of arboviruses.

According to the term of commitment signed between the parties, in the first phase of the project, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with the Wolbachia bacteria will be released, with the consent of the population, in Brumadinho and 21 other municipalities linked to the Paraopeba River Basin. The expectation of the State Department of Health (SES-MG) is that mosquito production will subsequently expand throughout the state.

It should be noted that these insects are not genetically modified and do not transmit diseases. WMP is an international non-profit initiative working to protect the global community from mosquito-borne diseases.

How it works?

The method consists of releasing Aedes aegypti with Wolbachia so that they reproduce with local Aedes aegypti, gradually establishing a new population of these mosquitoes, all with Wolbachia. Wolbitos, as they are called, are non-transgenic and do not transmit diseases.

Wolbachia is an intracellular microorganism present in 60% of insects in nature, but is not present in Aedes aegypti. When present in these mosquitoes, it prevents the dengue, Zika, chikungunya and urban yellow fever viruses from developing inside the mosquito, contributing to the reduction of these diseases.

Once mosquitoes with Wolbachia are released into the environment, they reproduce with field mosquitoes and help create a new generation of mosquitoes with Wolbachia. Over time, the percentage of mosquitoes carrying the microorganism increases, until it remains high without the need for new releases.

By SES-MG Journalism