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Mosquitoes can be the nightmare of many Singaporeans’ lives, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was unfazed when he got up close and personal with a scourge of them on Tuesday (September 15).
Documenting his visit to the Environmental Health Institute on his Instagram Stories, PM Lee shared a behind-the-scenes look at the facility, which produces Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes to fight dengue.
As part of his visit, he saw mosquitoes up close and tried a nifty-looking mosquito launcher.
He even sacrificed his arm for science, putting it in an enclosure full of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes.
However, the mosquitoes didn’t seem to be biting the bait, prompting PM Lee to joke, “I’m not tasty enough!”
Of course, the insects’ lack of interest probably has more to do with the fact that male mosquitoes don’t bite.
The Wolbachia Project, a program of the National Environment Agency (NEA), aims to combat dengue by suppressing the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
This is done by releasing male mosquitoes that carry Wolbachia bacteria, which then mate with female Aedes aegypti that cause dengue and cause them to lay eggs that do not hatch.
Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes have helped reduce Aedes aegypti mosquito populations at study sites in Yishun and Tampines by 90 percent, NEA said.
The Wolbachia project is currently in its fifth phase and aims to cover approximately 15 percent of HDB blocks in Singapore by March 2022.
