A year after the genetically modified Friendly™ Aedes mosquitoes were launched in Piracicaba, Brazil, the Epidemiologic Surveillance service released new data which showed a 91% reduction in dengue fever cases in the CECAP/El Dorado District. Dengue fever cases decreased to just 12 in 2015/2016, against the 133 cases in the previous year. According to Epidemiologic Surveillance, the rest of the municipality saw a 52% reduction in dengue fever incidence during the same period, from 3,487 cases in the 2014/2015 period to 1,676 cases in 2015/2016.

The report also showed that in 2015/2016 dengue-year, the rate in CECAP/El Dorado was 45% lower than the rest of the municipality, whereas it was 195% larger in the previous year. The latest data roundup also reports zero cases of Zika and chikungunya in CECAP/Eldorado.

"Over the course of one year, we were able to bring the dengue fever incidence down by more than 50% in Piracicaba. In CECAP/Eldorado, where we had the Friendly™ Aedes project, the reduction was extraordinary, going over 90%," says Pedro Mello, the city's Secretary of Health.

Produced by Oxitec do Brasil, Friendly™ Aedes have been used in Piracicaba since April 30, 2015, when the first insects were released in CECAP/Eldorado. For more details, read the news release at the Oxitec website.