Google says it can harness technology to optimize a concept that\u2019s been around for decades, but hasn\u2019t been successfully scaled with mosquitoes to rein in disease.<\/p>\n
For example, the process often involves separating the insects by sex to isolate the males. Currently, that\u2019s done manually and can be time consuming. Google says it\u2019s \u201cdeveloping new technologies that combine sensors, algorithms and novel engineering to take advantage of unique aspects of mosquito biology to quickly and accurately sort males from females.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company also says it\u2019s building software and monitoring tools to guide releases of sterile males, and its scientists and engineers are creating sensors, traps and software to decide which areas need to be treated and treated again. <\/p>\n
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Called Debug, the project targets Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are native to Africa but have infiltrated nearly half of California\u2019s counties<\/a> since first being detected in the state in 2013. Not only do they drive residents nuts with itchy bites, but they can carry a number of potentially serious diseases, including dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. <\/p>\n The plan is to infect males \u2014 which don\u2019t bite \u2014 with a bacteria called Wolbachia, which effectively renders them sterile. They are then released to seek out wild females and mate. Females will lay eggs but these won\u2019t hatch, which experts say drives down the population over time. <\/p>\n There are other methods to sterilize male mosquitoes. Vector control districts serving Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties have irradiated males and released them<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n Early results are promising. Two neighborhoods treated by the Greater Los Angeles Vector Control District saw a more than 80% reduction<\/a> in the female Aedes aegypti population in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n But as the Greater L.A. district seeks to expand its operations, cost poses a problem<\/a>. Last year, business owners signaled they weren\u2019t willing to shell out more every year to make it happen. District officials are still hoping to sway them.<\/p>\n If Google moves forward, it wouldn\u2019t be the first time it has been involved in such an effort. In 2018, the company conducted a large-scale trial in Fresno County, releasing 14.4 million Wolbachia-infected males in three neighborhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cAt peak mosquito season, the number of female mosquitoes was 95.5% lower in release areas compared to non-release areas, with the most geographically isolated neighborhood reaching a 99% reduction,\u201d a 2020 paper<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n Google has applied for a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out the releases in California and Florida, for which the federal agency is currently seeking comments before deciding whether to grant approval. <\/p>\n The company aims to release up to 16 million Wolbachia-infected males in California, and the same in Florida, per year for two years, the Federal Register announcement said, for a total of 64 million. <\/p>\n Urgency to tamp down the invasive mosquito population in California has increased since 2023, when the state logged its first locally acquired dengue cases \u2014 meaning people were infected in their communities, not while traveling. The following year, the number of locally acquired cases ballooned to 18<\/a>, with 14 of them in Los Angeles County.<\/p>\n