Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40155909›Full record

Trial reportBMC medicine2025

Adjacent spillover efficacy of Wolbachia for control of dengue: emulation of a cluster randomised target trial.

Jue Tao Lim, Diyar Mailepessov, Chee Seng Chong, Borame Dickens, Yee Ling Lai, Youming Ng, Deng Lu, Caleb Lee, Li Yun Tan, Grace Chain and 8 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Combating dengue using maleThe Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. The inhibition mechanism ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Jue Tao Lim *Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
Diyar Mailepessov *Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Chee Seng Chong *Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Borame DickensSaw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
Yee Ling LaiEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Youming NgEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Deng LuEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Caleb LeeEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Li Yun TanEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Grace ChainEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Soon Hoe HoEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Chia-Chen ChangEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Pei MaSaw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
Somya BansalSaw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
Vernon LeeMinistry of Health, Singapore, Singapore.
Shuzhen SimEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore. Sim_Shuzhen@nea.gov.sg.
Cheong Huat TanEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.
Lee Ching NgEnvironmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMatings between male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with wAlbB strain of Wolbachia and wild-type females yield non-viable eggs, thereby suppressing Ae. aegypti abundance in the field. We evaluated the spillover efficacy of releasing wAlbB-infected Ae. aegypti male mosquitoes to suppress dengue in sites adjacent to release sites (spillover sites).

methodsThe protocol of a two-arm cluster-randomised test-negative controlled trial (cRCT) was specified and emulated using a nationally representative dengue test-negative/positive database of 454,437 individuals reporting for febrile illness to primary or secondary care in public healthcare institutions. Spillover intervention sites were defined by geolocating locations which were adjacent to, i.e. shared geographical borders with, actual Wolbachia intervention sites. We built a cohort of individuals who resided in spillover sites versus a comparator control group who resided in sites which did not receive Wolbachia interventions. We emulated a constrained randomisation protocol used in cRCTs to balance dengue risk between spillover and control arms in the pre-intervention period. We matched individuals reporting for testing in intervention and control groups by calendar time and a high-dimensional battery of sociodemographic, environmental and anthropogenic variables. Intention-to-treat analysis was conducted to estimate the protective efficacy against dengue given spillover Wolbachia exposure.

resultsThe final cohort consisted of 2354 matched individuals residing in Wolbachia spillover and control sites for at least 3 months in the study period. Compared to the controls, individuals residing in spillover sites for 3 or more months were associated with a 45% (OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.42‒0.74) reduction in risk of contracting dengue. Higher durations of spillover Wolbachia exposure also modestly increased protective efficacies. Compared to the control arm, the proportion of virologically confirmed dengue cases was lower in the spillover arm overall and across each subgroup. Protective efficacies were found across all years, age and sex subgroups.

conclusionsOur results demonstrated the potential of Wolbachia-mediated sterility for reducing the risk of contracting dengue even in sites which were not directly treated by the intervention.

Indexed as

AedesDengueMosquito ControlPest Control, BiologicalWolbachiaAdultAnimalsFemaleHumansMaleMosquito VectorsYoung AdultAdjacent spilloverDengueIncompatible insect techniqueSingaporeWolbachia

Identifiers

PMID40155909
PMCPMC11951538

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.