Italy Releases Millions of Mosquitoes to Fight Tiger Mosquito

Italian researchers at ENEA, in collaboration with Google’s Debug initiative and Sapienza University, are releasing millions of male tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) in a 53-hectare area of the ENEA Casaccia Research Center in Rome. The project utilizes a “sterile insect technique” where male mosquitoes are exposed to the Wolbachia bacteria, rendering them reproductively incompatible with wild females.

This approach aims to drastically reduce the population of the tiger mosquito, a vector for diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, which are increasingly spreading in Europe due to climate change. Initial results from the trial, conducted from late July to late October 2025, indicate an 88% reduction in the number of fertile eggs capable of surviving the winter.

The project represents an alternative to widespread chemical insecticide use and Google is expanding the approach to other mosquito species and large-scale programs globally, handling mosquito breeding, packaging, and air transport from Miami. The World Health Organization estimates 600,000 deaths annually from mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria.