Laos expands Wolbachia mosquito releases across five provinces, with more than 1.2 million people expected to gain long-term protection

The World Mosquito Program reported on 11 August 2026 that Wolbachia mosquitoes are being released in Vientiane Capital, Oudomxay, Luang Prabang, Savannakhet and Champasak, in a partnership with the Lao Ministry of Health and Save the Children that began in 2022. More than 1.2 million people are expected to gain long-term protection against dengue.

Main points

• After launch events in early July, releases are under way in those five areas. Technical preparation and community work ran from April to June 2026. The Ministry’s Department of Communicable Disease Control leads, with Save the Children, support from the Australian Government, and the World Mosquito Program. The method was introduced in Laos in 2022.
• The project trained 336 village health volunteers across 197 villages in the five target provinces. Public acceptance in the five areas exceeded 88%.
• The article says that from 2025 to mid-2026 the country reported close to 1,500 dengue cases, including four severe cases. Health Minister Baykham Khattiya called the Wolbachia release a new method that has had positive results in many countries. Luke Ebbs of Save the Children in Laos said the aim is fewer children falling ill.
• The page also gives the organisation’s own figures: more than 16 million people protected in 15 countries, an estimated 1.54 million dengue cases prevented, close to 93,000 hospitalisations averted, and 455 million US dollars saved in healthcare and societal costs. These are not figures for Vietnam.

VPMA’s note

This is a programme in Laos. Members should read it as one way a ministry of health is extending a tool alongside surveillance and treatment of breeding sites. It is not a plan for Vietnam.

Source: World Mosquito Program (summarised in English by VPMA). Read the Vietnamese page.

← Back to news