Swarms of bacteria-infected mosquitoes will be released into backyards in north Queensland today as part of a trial to eliminate dengue fever.
The insects will be infected with the Wolbachia bacteria, which stops the transmission of dengue.
Once they are released in Townsville, it is hoped they will infiltrate and breed with the existing population, passing on Wolbachia and eventually wiping out dengue.
The project’s Professor Scott O’Neill said the Eliminate Dengue project was the first trial of its type in an Australian city.
“We’re hoping that as a consequence of the trial that we should see much less dengue in Townsville,” he said.
The number of infections in Townsville will be monitored to see if there is less infections than previous years.
If the trial is successful, the project will be rolled out to problem areas in South-East Asia.
The latest Queensland Health figures showed there were 18 confirmed cases in Townsville, 29 in Charters Towers and 136 in the Cairns and Innisfail areas.