title: Suppression of a Field Population of Aedes aegypti in Brazil by Sustained Release of Transgenic Male Mosquitoes.
abstract: The increasing burden of dengue, and the relative failure of traditional vector control programs highlight the need to develop new control methods. SIT using self-limiting genetic technology is one such promising method. A self-limiting strain of Aedes aegypti, OX513A, has already reached the stage of field evaluation. Sustained releases of OX513A Ae. aegypti males led to 80% suppression of a target wild Ae. aegypti population in the Cayman Islands in 2010. Here we describe sustained series of field releases of OX513A Ae. aegypti males in a suburb of Juazeiro, Bahia, Brazil. This study spanned over a year and reduced the local Ae. aegypti population by 95% (95% CI: 92.2%-97.5%) based on adult trap data and 81% (95% CI: 74.9-85.2%) based on ovitrap indices compared to the adjacent no-release control area. The mating competitiveness of the released males (0.031; 95% CI: 0.025-0.036) was similar to that estimated in the Cayman trials (0.059; 95% CI: 0.011-0.210), indicating that environmental and target-strain differences had little impact on the mating success of the OX513A males. We conclude that sustained release of OX513A males may be an effective and widely useful method for suppression of the key dengue vector Ae. aegypti. The observed level of suppression would likely be sufficient to prevent dengue epidemics in the locality tested and other areas with similar or lower transmission.
authors.affiliation: Oxitec Ltd, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom; Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil.
authors.forename: Danilo O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Oxitec Ltd, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: McKemey
authors.affiliation: Moscamed Brasil, Juazeiro, Bahia, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luiza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garziera
authors.affiliation: Oxitec Ltd, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Renaud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lacroix
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, St Mary's Campus, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Donnelly
authors.affiliation: Oxitec Ltd, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kindgom; The Pirbright Institute, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alphey
authors.affiliation: Moscamed Brasil, Juazeiro, Bahia, Brasil.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malavasi
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil; Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular (INCT-EM), Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Margareth L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Capurro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*