Senior officials of the Ministry of Health say that it will take a long time to fully implement the ‘Wolbachia’ mosquito control system and the introduction of the dengue vaccine to control dengue disease.
Accordingly, the preliminary paperwork to start the Wolbachia program next September is currently underway. As a basic component, a special research laboratory should be established in Sri Lanka and mosquito eggs containing Wolbachia bacteria should be obtained.
Under this process, mosquito eggs sent from this country will be sent to Australia and the technical steps to introduce Wolbachia bacteria into those eggs will be carried out, which will take more than 6 months.
If all goes as planned, the practical phase of releasing mosquitoes containing Wolbachia bacteria into the environment is expected to be carried out next year (2027).
Meanwhile, it is further reported that the preliminary review work for registering the relevant supplier for the proposed dengue vaccine is also currently being carried out at the ministerial level.