Wolbachia mosquitoes to be released at 4 more sites, including Geylang and Pasir Ris

SINGAPORE: Male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes will be released at four more locations in Singapore as part of a project to combat dengue.

It will see Project Wolbachia expand to Balestier-Whampoa, Geylang, Moulmein-Dorset and Pasir Ris from end-January to March 2026, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary said in a social media post on Friday (Jan 9).

This will bring the project coverage to 740,000 households, Dr Puthucheary said, adding that the government is on track to reach 800,000 households – half of Singapore’s homes by 2026. The figure was first announced by Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu in November 2024.

The release of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes at the Balestier-Whampoa and Moulmein-Dorset sites will begin from Jan 27, on Tuesday and Friday mornings.

At the Geylang site, it will start from Jan 28, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

The release schedule for Pasir Ris is yet to be confirmed.

In November 2025, it was announced that the project was expanding to sites covering Marsiling and more areas in Woodlands, Kaki Bukit–Kembangan and Bedok.

Since the start of Project Wolbachia in 2016, Singapore has been progressively releasing Wolbachia mosquitoes across the country.