Reflections from an old Queenslander: Can rear and release strategies be the next great era of vector control?

Abstract

In this perspective, I discuss the great eras of vector control, centring on Aedes aegypti, the primary vector of dengue, Zika and several other viruses. Since the discovery and acceptance of the role of mosquitoes as vectors of disease agents, several significant strategies have been developed and deployed to control them and the diseases they transmit. Environmental management, insecticides and, to a lesser extent, biological control have emerged as great eras of vector control. In the past decade, the release of massive numbers of specifically modified mosquitoes that mate with wild populations has emerged as a significant new strategy to fight vector-borne diseases. These reared and released mosquitoes have been modified by the addition of a symbiont (e.g. Wolbachia bacteria), radiation or introduction of a genetic construct to either sterilize the wild mosquitoes they mate with, crashing the population, or to reduce the wild population's capacity to vector pathogens. Will these new rear and release strategies become the next great era of vector control? From my vantage point as a dengue control manager and researcher involved in two Wolbachia programmes, I will discuss the hurdles that rear and release programmes face to gain widespread acceptance and success.