Hong Kong plans new trial of infecting male mosquitoes to halt offspring growth

The ‘mosquito-to-control-mosquito’ strategy will be deployed next year, as government considers stepping up control measures

Hong Kong will trial a “mosquito-to-control-mosquito” strategy next year, under which the insect males are infected with bacteria to prevent their offspring from reaching maturity, following the city’s first local dengue fever case in over a year.

Announcing the strategy on Sunday, Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene Donald Ng Man-kit said the government would consider stepping up mosquito control measures with a lower threshold, as the city’s mosquito population rose more rapidly this month.

The first locally recorded dengue fever case since 2024 was reported last week, involving a 21-year-old man who was bitten by mosquitoes near a road construction site in Penny’s Bay on Lantau Island.

Authorities have carried out mosquito control and other preventive measures at the site and in the surrounding area.

Explaining the plan in a televised interview, Ng said that by infecting the males with a designated bacterium, any offspring produced after mating would fail to reach maturity.

He added that the strategy is expected to reduce the overall mosquito population.