It has developed technology which shows the ability of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to transmit diseases such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya is reduced when the naturally-occurring bacteria is introduced. Monash University says there hasn't been a single case of locally transmitted dengue fever in the past four rainy seasons in Townsville since mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria were released in the north Queensland city. "Nothing we've got is slowing these diseases down - they are getting worse," said Scott O'Neill, director of the World Mosquito Program, quoted by the Guardian. After a long slog in my career in doing this, I think this is a piece of work I’m really quite proud of because it really shows we’ll be able to take this all the way, I think.”

O’Neill added that the success of the Australian study may be the first indication that there is a solution for slowing down or halting mosquito-borne diseases, especially as previous efforts to do so have yet to make a major impact. "Not only were communities accepting of the technology, but they also became active participants, with residents and local school students growing and releasing their own Wolbachia mosquitoes," Prof O'Neill said about the Townsville program. Communities involved in projects in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Medellin in Colombia, and Indonesia have all embraced the work, possibly because of the fear of the diseases they are trying to control, said O’Neill. Until now, the technology has looked promising but has only been tried in small pilot projects around the world of 1 to 1.5 square km. The next big project will take place in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where O’Neill and his colleagues plan to conduct a randomized controlled trial to track the disease burden in areas with and without the presence of the Wolbachia-carrying mosquitos. The program now aims to deploy Wolbachia mosquitoes in larger cities around the world with a target of reducing the cost to just US$1 per person. “There is lab data showing this approach could be effective in malaria as well, but that is much further upstream,” said O’Neill, as per The Guardian article.
Researchers from Australia report the success of a plan to use mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to prevent the spread of dengue fever in an Australian town, stating that they intend to bring the program to other locales.