In 2022, the El Salvador Ministry of Public Health (MINSAL) reported that dengue cases tripled compared to the previous year, with more than 16,000 cases.
As part of the Ministry’s efforts to combat this rising threat of mosquito-borne disease, it has joined forces with the World Mosquito Program (WMP). The “Wolbachia project” will be a first for the country and see Wolbachia mosquitoes released in three municipalities.
The project involves external collaborators including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit (PRVCU).
Other mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika and chikungunya are well known to the Salvadoran population, with more than 100,000 chikungunya cases in 2014 and 75,000 in 2020.
With a significant rise in dengue cases in El Salvador in 2022, the Ministry of Public Health has partnered with WMP to combat dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases in three municipalities. These include Santa Ana, San Sebastián Salitrillo and Chalchuapa.
WMP’s Wolbachia method will be deployed in an estimated area of 31Km2, where mosquito-borne incidence rates are the highest, and aims to protect close to 382,000 people.
External collaborators include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit (PRVCU). They will be carrying out surveillance activities and epidemiological and entomological control of the strategy in order to contribute their perspective on future implementation in other territories of the region.
Following successful community approval, the World Mosquito Program released mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia between January and June 2024.
Factsheet
Project sites
The World Mosquito Program is partnering with the El Salvador Ministry of Public Health (MINSAL), as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit (PRVCU), to address the threat of mosquito-borne diseases in three municipalities. These include Santa Ana, San Sebastián Salitrillo and Chalchuapa.
Partners and Supporters
