Influence of public hesitancy and receptivity on reactive behaviours towards releases of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes for dengue control

Abstract

Singapore, a highly urbanized Asian tropical country that experiences periodic dengue outbreaks, is piloting field releases of male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with the aim of suppressing urban populations of the primary dengue vector Aedes aegypti. This study proposes and assesses a model to explain the roles of hesitancy and receptivity towards Project Wolbachia–Singapore in influencing reactive mosquito prevention behaviors (reactive behaviors) towards the release of Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes for residents living in the release sites. Interestingly, both hesitancy and receptivity predicted greater instances of reactive behaviors. The model also examines the roles of general knowledge about Wolbachia technology, perceived severity of mosquito bites, perceived density of mosquitoes, and social responsibility as predictors of hesitancy, receptivity, and reactive behaviors towards the release of Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes. Hesitancy towards the project mediated the effects of general knowledge, perceived severity of mosquito bites, and perceived density of mosquitoes on reactive behaviors towards the releases, although receptivity towards the project did not. Having less knowledge about Project Wolbachia–Singapore was associated with higher hesitancy towards the project and higher likelihood of performing reactive behaviors towards the releases. Individuals who perceive mosquito bites to be more severe and think that there are more mosquitoes in their living environments were also more likely to be hesitant about the project and practice reactive behaviors. However, both hesitancy and receptivity towards the project mediated the effect of social responsibility on reactive behaviors. Receptivity towards the project was driven by social responsibility, which was also associated with reduced hesitancy towards the project. Our findings suggest that, to address the hesitancy reported by a minority of participants, future outreach efforts should focus on strengthening the public’s sense of social responsibility and on tailored education campaigns targeting groups with low levels of knowledge of the project.

Targeting Aedes aegypti Metabolism with Next-Generation Insecticides

“…Vertebrate lipids appear to inhibit DENV at an early stage in its life cycle and promote DENV at a later stage in its life cycle. In support of this, DENV reduced protein expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP-1) in Aag2 cells, leading to increased intracellular cholesterol levels and enhanced virus replication [ 24 ]. These studies reveal a complicated relationship with blood-derived lipids, where some species may inhibit acquisition and others facilitate replication and dissemination.…”

“…Wolbachia infection suppresses viral replication with a negligible risk to humans, the environment, and mosquito fitness [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Logistic and regulatory constraints currently limit the usefulness of this technique [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Additional biological methods being studied include leveraging insect viruses and other microorganisms to compete with human pathogens [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Implications of mosquito metabolism on vector competence

“…Supplementation of LDL significantly inhibited both DENV and ZIKV infection in vitro, and limited ZIKV infection in vivo (Wagar et al, 2017). However, DENV reduced protein expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP-1) in Aag2 cells, leading to increased intracellular cholesterol levels and enhanced virus replication (Lwin et al, 2022). Collectively, these findings demonstrate a complicated relationship between blood-derived lipids and their impact on the acquisition of nutrition and the replication and dissemination of flaviviruses in Aedes mosquitoes.…”

Safety and Proven Risk Assessment on the Release of Wolbachia-Inserted Aedes Aegypti: Lesson Learned from the Partial Resistance of the Community

“…The effort to Convince constituents of the community regarding how virtuous and advance releasing Aedes mosquitoes that contain endosymbiont Wolbachia to replace wild type Ae. aegypti when some of them have antecedently incorporated the opposite view, clearly requisites an exceptional step, starting with (1) community awareness-arousing [70] and (2) intense bidirection communication to turn initially opposite community members into participants and even partners [71]. The information and awareness campaign should explain the features of the innovations [72], including strengths [73] and its weaknesses [74,75], the release procedures (areas, dates, etc.)…”

“…The information and awareness campaign should explain the features of the innovations [72], including strengths [73] and its weaknesses [74,75], the release procedures (areas, dates, etc.) which intended to suppress or to replace initial mosquito population [76], the potential risks [16] and, especially, the activities in which the community should intervene or participate [66,71].…”