Strategies for introducing Wolbachia to reduce transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.

ABSTRACT: Certain strains of the endosymbiont Wolbachia have the potential to lower the vectorial capacity of mosquito populations and assist in controlling a number of mosquito-borne diseases. An important consideration when introducing Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes into natural populations is the minimisation of any transient increase in disease risk or biting nuisance. This may be achieved by predominantly releasing male mosquitoes. To explore this, we use a sex-structured model of Wolbachia-mosquito interactions. We first show that Wolbachia spread can be initiated with very few infected females provided the infection frequency in males exceeds a threshold. We then consider realistic introduction scenarios involving the release of batches of infected mosquitoes, incorporating seasonal fluctuatio

SUBMITTER: Hancock PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3082501 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature