KUALA LUMPUR: The release of Wolbachia-infected Aedes mosquitoes has led to a 50 to 80 per cent drop in dengue cases in several outbreak areas in Selangor, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said public health studies conducted during the early phase of the programme showed encouraging results.
“During the early phase of implementation, the results of public health studies in six dengue outbreak localities in Selangor showed a reduction in dengue cases between 50 per cent and 80 per cent compared with control localities,” he said in a written parliamentary reply last night.
He was responding to Mohd Hasnizan Harun (PN-Hulu Selangor), who asked whether the ministry has conducted comprehensive environmental and public health impact studies related to the release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes.
Hasnizan also asked about continuous monitoring mechanisms to ensure long-term safety.
Dzulkefly said the early assessments also examined the interaction between Wolbachia-infected Aedes mosquitoes and the existing mosquito population in the environment.
He added that as of Dec 2025, Wolbachia mosquito release operations had been carried out in 51 localities nationwide involving eight states, including Selangor, the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Johor, Penang, Melaka, Kelantan, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan.
Based on evaluations after six years of implementation, he said 28 of the 51 localities met assessment criteria and were successfully evaluated.
Wolbachia is a bacterium introduced into Aedes mosquitoes in Malaysia to reduce dengue transmission.
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