The Minister of Health, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, announced the latest expansion at the School of Public Health during a vector-control event focused on dengue and chikungunya.

Dr Luciano Moreira, Program Lead of the World Mosquito Program in Brazil, is excited to see the Ministry of Health continuing to support the World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method. “Our goal is to protect the communities of these municipalities from arboviruses,” Moreira says, “and we are pleased to be taking another step towards a national rollout of our innovative and self-sustaining approach.”

The three municipalities are now preparing to receive Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes. When Aedes aegypti mosquitoes carry safe and natural Wolbachia bacteria, they have a reduced ability to transmit viruses like dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever, helping to protect communities from outbreaks.

The expansion to Campo Grande, Petrolina and Belo Horizonte will take place under the guidance of the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with local implementation partners. Details about the projects to support the deployment of safe and natural Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes in the three new cities will be released over the coming months.

Residents in 29 neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro and 33 neighbourhoods in Niterói are already benefiting from the World Mosquito Program's work in Brazil.

Learn more about the World Mosquito Program’s work in Brazil.