Updated Jan 15, 2021
Peter Ryan
Send MessageFocus Areas:
Infectious & Vector Diseases
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified dengue as one of the top ten global health threats of 2019. The Zika virus pandemic of 2016 had a devastating impact on congenitally infected newborns, with 84 countries now affected. Currently, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and Zika threaten over 3.9 billion people around the world, mostly in areas where household and national incomes are low. Furthermore, climate change is expected to significantly increase the global population at risk of these diseases. Conventional disease control measures against these diseases are not working. An effective sustainable solution is urgently required to tackle a worsening global problem.
Our solution is focused on protecting communities at risk from diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, including dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever. It involves implementing a disruptive, self-sustaining, cost-effective, biological control method that uses a naturally occurring bacteria called Wolbachia. This approach represents a paradigm shift in control and avoidance of these diseases and we are now aiming to protect 100 million people in 16 of the 20 countries with the highest global disease burdens by 2023.
New Implemented Countries | Brazil, Fiji, Colombia, Kiribati, Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam, Vanuatu |