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Yucatán Opens Wolbachia Mosquito Factory for Peninsula-Wide Dengue Control

Federal backing enables UADY’s Mérida lab to supply Wolbachia carriers for Yucatán, Campeche, Quintana Roo.

RECIFE, BRAZIL - JANUARY 26: Aedes aegypti mosquitos are seen in a lab at the Fiocruz institute on January 26, 2016 in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. The mosquito transmits the Zika virus and is being studied at the institute. In the last four months, authorities have recorded close to 4,000 cases in Brazil in which the mosquito-borne Zika virus may have led to microcephaly in infants. The ailment results in an abnormally small head in newborns and is associated with various disorders including decreased brain development. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Zika virus outbreak is likely to spread throughout nearly all the Americas. At least twelve cases in the United States have now been confirmed by the CDC. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Overview

  • Regional authorities formally launched the peninsular Wolbachia strategy at UADY’s Biological Control Laboratory in Mérida with participation from Campeche and Quintana Roo health leaders.
  • CENAPRECE committed an additional 10 million pesos to expand production capacity so the Yucatán facility can distribute mosquitoes to other states under the national health policy.
  • The program places Aedes aegypti eggs carrying the naturally occurring Wolbachia bacterium in ovitraps so offspring inherit it, reducing the mosquitoes’ ability to transmit dengue, Zika and chikungunya over time.
  • Officials signed a collaboration agreement between the Yucatán government and UADY, conducted a symbolic seeding of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes, and toured the production and quality-control areas.
  • Federal health data cited in the rollout note year-over-year declines in Yucatán dengue indicators in 2025, which authorities presented as context for scaling the approach, while the OPS offered public support.