Dengue outbreaks occurred annually in Cairns prior to Wolbachia releases; travellers bring it with them, which can lead to clusters of local transmission. Imported Zika cases have been reported in travellers, but there have been no locally acquired Zika cases in Queensland.

Wolbachia mosquito releases were undertaken across four local government administrative areas in Cairns and surrounds, including the Cassowary Coast region, Douglas Shire and the Charters Towers region. Within each region, the locations for the releases were selected based on factors such as historical dengue case reports and human population density.

Community engagement activities included community meetings, information kiosks and mail outs, Facebook, newspaper articles, radio and television. Our staff visited schools, met people face-to-face and tapped into community networks. Close engagement with local communities ensured residents were informed about the study and were comfortable with its continuation. Residents were surveyed to assess community awareness and support.

Ongoing long-term monitoring will establish if Australia has now been ‘dengue proofed’ due to successful deployment of wMel Wolbachia. Given the widespread protection the wMel strain provides for a range of viruses, long-term monitoring should also indicate if protection is being afforded to these communities from other arboviruses.