Wolbachia strain wAlbB maintains high density and dengue inhibition following introduction into a field population of Aedes aegypti: Wolbachia wAlbB in wild Aedes aegypti

Abstract

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying the wAlbB Wolbachia strain show a reduced capacity to transmit dengue virus. wAlbB has been introduced into wild Ae. aegypti populations in several field sites in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where it has persisted at high frequency for more than 2 years and significantly reduced dengue incidence. Although these encouraging results indicate that wAlbB releases can be an effective dengue control strategy, the long-term success depends on wAlbB maintaining high population frequencies and virus transmission inhibition, and both could be compromised by Wolbachia-host coevolution in the field. Here, wAlbB-carrying Ae. aegypti collected from the field 20 months after t..