Nature Names Brazilian Wolbachia Dengue Researcher to 2025 List as National Rollout Expands

Overview

• Brazilian scientist Luciano Moreira was selected for Nature’s 2025 “Nature’s 10” for his Wolbachia-based Aedes aegypti work.
• A Lancet study this year reported a median 63% reduction in dengue where Wolbachia mosquitoes were released, with local drops up to 89%.
• Fiocruz runs a Curitiba biofactory that produces millions of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes for releases coordinated with Brazil’s Health Ministry.
• The method introduces a naturally occurring bacterium that blocks viral replication in mosquitoes, and the trait is passed to offspring by infected females.
• Deployments are underway in 16 municipalities, including Brasília and cities in Santa Catarina and Goiás, in a year when Brazil recorded more than 1,700 dengue deaths.