Bacterial war mulled as control measure for mosquitoes - RTHK
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Bacterial war mulled as control measure for mosquitoes

2025-08-16 HKT 11:37
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Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said on Saturday the government is considering exposing mosquitoes to a bacteria that affects their reproductive system – as a way of controlling mosquito-borne diseases.

He voiced that possibility as the SAR logged its ninth imported case of chikungunya this year on Friday, saying the number of such cases would continue to increase due to the large volume of incoming tourists.

Tse said he is confident the chikungunya situation within the territory can be kept under control due to the government having years of experience in preventing dengue fever outbreaks but that his bureau will nevertheless continue to search for new methods of eliminating mosquitoes.

One of these, he said, is to cultivate and deploy bacteria that can influence the ability of Aedes albopictus mosquito, which spreads both Chikungunya and dengue fever, to transmit diseases, as suggested by the World Health Organization.

"When the mosquito carries this bacteria, there are two effects. The first is that the mosquito's reproductive ability will be reduced, which means that the number of mosquitoes can be controlled," Tse said on a radio programme.

"The second effect is that, even if the mosquito is infected with dengue fever or chikungunya, its ability to transmit the disease will also be lowered."

Tse said the city may start testing the method from next year, as Singapore has also adopted the practice and the results have been found to be effective.

The bureau will also trial the use of robot dogs from September to spray mosquito pesticides at locations that are hilly and harder for staff to reach.

Tse said the initial phase would consist of only one robot dog and that more of them would be used if good results are recorded.

Bacterial war mulled as control measure for mosquitoes