Working in partnership with the Republic of the Marshall Islands Ministry of Health and Human Services (RMI MOHHS), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pacific Island Health Officers’ Association (PIHOA), Oxitec is supplying Friendly™ Aedes aegypti and knowledge transfer to the RMI MOHHS on the island of Ebeye.

Release of Friendly™ Aedes aegypti was selected by the RMI MOHHS as a strategy in the fight against outbreaks of dengue and other arboviruses vectored by Aedes aegypti on Ebeye, a small island and densely populated island, home to approximately 12,000 people, which has historically been affected by serious dengue outbreaks.

In July 2024, the project team initiated deployments of Oxitec’s Friendly™ Aedes aegypti following a preparatory phase and ongoing community engagement on Ebeye.

Aedes aegypti in the Marshall Islands      

Aedes aegypti is an invasive mosquito which carries and spreads dangerous viral diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever and chikungunya.

Despite the best efforts of authorities around the world, the Aedes aegypti mosquito is difficult to control using conventional tools:  

The eggs of Aedes aegypti can remain dormant in dry conditions for several months;
Aedes aegypti are container breeders, enabling them to lay eggs in a wide range of small containers in which rainwater collects;
The females bite people throughout the day, meaning bednets are ineffective.

The Marshall Islands government experts selected Oxitec’s proven Friendly™ Aedes aegypti as the most sustainable and operationally effective option to control this disease-spreading mosquito.

Releases of Friendly™ Aedes aegypti on Ebeye

In July 2024, we launched the first pilot releases of Friendly™ Aedes aegypti mosquitoes on Ebeye. This new pilot phase has launched following several months of community engagement on Ebeye by the project team, including in schools and with church leaders. It also comes after the successful completion of knowledge transfer and capacity building of local field operations team members on Ebeye over the last year. Extensive field surveillance data collection has also taken place in preparation for the pilot, with collection methods moving from paper-based to digital.