Enhancing the Success of Global Aedes-borne Disease Interventions by Optimisation of Insect Release Methods

Mass release of mosquitoes to suppress or modify populations offers a promising solution to the significant social and economic burden caused by mosquito-borne diseases. Release of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti can suppress mosquito reproduction as well as virus replication within the mosquito. This thesis investigates Wolbachia’s negative fitness effect on Aedes aegypti, improving the understanding of production and release bottlenecks to support the optimisation and scalability of the Wolbachia-introgression method.