Abstract
Release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes is an early-stage novel intervention that aims to modify mosquito populations to eliminate arboviral diseases that affect over half the world’s population. Statistical and mathematical modelling techniques and phylogenetics can explain why effectiveness of interventions vary in different environments and predict where such interventions should be used.
We need to understand what factors currently limit Wolbachia implementation, predict what epidemiological impact coverage gaps will have and identify how coverage gaps could be filled with alternative mosquito control tools. Combined, this will assess how universally applicable Wolbachia will be and accelerate its development and implementation worldwide.
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