Project Wolbachia to be expanded to 4 new locations from end-January to March
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With the latest expansion of Project Wolbachia, its total coverage will increase to 740,000 households in Singapore.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
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SINGAPORE – Four more areas in Singapore will be included in Project Wolbachia in 2026, announced Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary in a Facebook post on Jan 9.
Balestier-Whampoa, Moulmein-Dorset, Geylang and Pasir Ris are the latest sites to be included in the initiative, which aims to control the spread of the Aedes mosquito population by releasing lab-grown male mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria.
This will take place from Jan 27 in the first two areas, followed by Geylang from Jan 28 and Pasir Ris from March.
With the expansion, the project will increase total coverage from 660,000 to 740,000 households in Singapore.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Jan 9 that it is aiming for Project Wolbachia to reach 800,000 households, or half of all households here, by end-2026.
The Aedes mosquito population at project sites has been reduced by 80 per cent to 90 per cent, and the risk of acquiring dengue lowered by more than 70 per cent, according to NEA. Residents in adjacent areas were also found to be 45 per cent less likely to contract dengue compared with those at non-Wolbachia sites.
In 2025, NEA also began the trial release of Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes at two dengue clusters at Block 22 Sin Ming Road as well as in Jurong West Street 91 and 92 to supplement traditional control operations. These clusters have since closed.
Under the project, lab-grown male mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria are released in high-risk dengue areas.
When these males, which do not bite, mate with females, the eggs produced will not hatch, leading to a reduction in the mosquito population and thus lowering the risk of dengue transmission over time.
The production of Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes is currently met by two separate facilities managed by NEA and Debug.
Debug has supported NEA’s mosquito production and release efforts with its automation technology for the production, sex-sorting and release of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes since 2023. A combination of van and manual releases is currently used at the release sites managed by Debug, added NEA.
In his Facebook post, Dr Janil reminded residents to keep practising the BLOCK method to reduce mosquito breeding sites.
The method advises the community to:
Break up hardened soil;
Lift and empty flowerpot plates;
Overturn pails and wipe their rims;
Change water in vases;
Keep roof gutters clear and place BTI insecticide inside.
