Yucatán Deploys ‘Good Mosquitoes’ to Fight Dengue

Mérida, Mexico — The State Government of Yucatán has initiated the National Strategy for the Control of Dengue and other Arboviruses, an initiative that seeks to reduce the population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the transmitter of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. The strategy employs specimens carrying Wolbachia, a natural bacterium that diminishes the mosquito's capacity to propagate viruses.

The official launch event took place at the Campus of Biological Sciences and Agropecuarian Sciences of the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY). The ceremony included a symbolic release of the "good mosquitoes" and the signing of a collaborative agreement between the State Government and the UADY, solidifying the cooperation between the academic and governmental sectors.

"Yucatán has taken a historic step by initiating the fight against the mosquito that transmits dengue (Aedes aegypti) through the biological control of 'Good Mosquitoes' with Wolbachia, a UADY strategy that the Federal Government will replicate in other states of the country," stated Governor Joaquín Díaz Mena.

The Governor also announced the production of a sterile fly to combat the cattle screwworm, a plague that affects the countryside and livestock farmers throughout Mexico.

For his part, the Director General of the National Center for Preventive Programs and Disease Control (Cenaprece) and representative of the Federal Secretary of Health, Rafael Valdez Vázquez, indicated that this is an innovative technology where the mosquito infected with Wolbachia, a common bacterium in insects, loses its ability to transmit the virus of these diseases.

Similarly, the emergencies advisor for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Mexico, Carlos Melo, highlighted this action as an important contribution from Yucatán to the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases, placing the state at the forefront of control efforts in the country, at a regional level, and even globally.

"This is historic; they are proposing a new, sustainable model for dengue control," he affirmed, after noting the collaboration between authorities and the health and academic sectors.

According to the National Epidemiological Surveillance System (SINAVE), dengue cases in Yucatán have been reduced by 44 percent this year compared to 2024.