Unique Innovation, Brazil Opens Mosquito Factory To Fight Dengue Fever

JAKARTA - In an effort to combat the spread of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), Brazil has just inaugurated the largest mosquito factory in the world that is capable of producing up to 190 million mosquitoes every week.

Reporting from the Oddity Central page, the factory is located in Campinas, the state of Srypto Paulo and occupies an area of 1,300 square meters. Inside, workers work relentlessly to ensure nearly 200 million mosquitoes can grow to adulthood before being released into nature to breed.

At first glance it may sound scary, but actually this project is part of a scientific program to prevent the spread of the dengue virus.

In the factory, the Aedes aegypti mosquito is raised in a special way. They are infected with Wolbachia bacteria, namely bacteria that make dengue viruses unable to develop in the mosquito body.

As a result, these mosquitoes cannot transmit dengue virus to humans. Interestingly, when these mosquitoes reproduce, the Wolbachia bacteria will also be passed down to their descendants.

The process of producing mosquitoes at the Campinas factory starts from thousands of containers filled with water with strictly regulated temperatures so that larvae can grow properly. After turning into adult mosquitoes, they are moved into special cages.

The male mosquito is fed a sugar solution that is absorbed through cotton, while the female mosquito is fed animal blood in a bag that mimics the texture of the human skin. These mosquitoes are bred for about four weeks and during that period they will mate and lay eggs in containers that have been prepared at the base of the cage.

Wolbachia's method is actually not new and has been successfully used in several other countries. But Brazil has ambitions to implement it on a much larger scale. This is very important, as cases of dengue fever in Brazil continue to increase every year. In 2024, the country recorded the worst dengue outbreak in its history, accounting for more than 80% of the cases reported worldwide.

With a production capacity of 190 million mosquitoes per week, this factory is able to meet the need to protect about 100 million people over a year. The Brazilian government hopes that this major innovation can be a real step in suppressing the spread of dengue disease, not only in Brazil, but also as an example for other countries facing similar threats.