Stable establishment of wMel Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti populations in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Warsito Tantowijoyoa, Bekti Andaria, Eggi Argunia b, Nida Budiwatia, Indah Nurhayatia, Iva Fitrianaa, Inggrid Ernesiaa, Edwin Widyanto Daniwijayaa, Endah Supriyatia, Dedik H. Yusdianaa, Munasdi Victoriusa, Dwi Satria Wardanaa, Hilmi Ardiansyaha, Riris Andono Ahmada c, Peter A. Ryand, Cameron Paul Simmonsd, Ary A. Hoffmanne, Edwige Rancèsd, Andrew P. Turleyd, Petrina H. Johnsond, Adi Utarinia f, Scott Leslie O’Neilld✉
- aWorld Mosquito Program Yogyakarta, Centre for Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- bDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- cDepartment of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- dInstitute of Vector-Borne Disease, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- eUniversity of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- fDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- ✉Corresponding author
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Abstract
The successful establishment of the wMel strain of Wolbachia for the control of arbovirus transmission by Aedes aegypti has been proposed and is being implemented in a number of countries. Here we describe the successful establishment of the wMel strain of Wolbachia in four sites in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. We demonstrate that Wolbachia can be successfully introgressed after transient releases of wMel-infected eggs or adult mosquitoes. We demonstrate that the approach is acceptable to communities and that Wolbachia maintains itself in the mosquito population once deployed. Finally, our data show that spreading rates of Wolbachia in the Indonesian setting are slow which may reflect more limited dispersal of Aedes aegypti than seen in other sites such as Cairns, Australia.