MOZEROA 2030: Innovative Mosquito Control on Huahine Island

Project Proposal—Phase 1

• Lead Institutions: UC Gump South Pacific Research Station (Gump Station) and Institut Louis Malardé (ILM);

• Goal: To suppress and eventually eliminate the risk of mosquito-borne disease (mosquito zero) from the island of Huahine by 2030 as a proof of concept for scaling the technique to other islands in French Polynesia and across the Pacific

• Personnel: The project is co-directed by Principal Investigators (PI) Dr. Hervé Bossin (Institut Louis Malardé) and Dr. Neil Davies (UC Berkeley). Other co-PIs and senior personnel are expected to include Dr. Françoise Mathieu-Daude (IRD Tahiti), Dr. Edith Gabriel (INRAe BioSP, Avignon), Dr. John Marshall (UC Berkeley), and Dr. George Roderick (UC Berkeley)

• Start Date: April 1, 2024

• Duration: 15 months

• Budget: $300,000

This project contributes to the Island Sustainability Research Program established by UC Berkeley with support of the SCF.

Project Description

Introduction

Mosquitoes are a major public health threat in French Polynesia, as vectors of several pathogens including viruses (e.g., dengue, zika, chikungunya) and parasitic nematodes (Wuchereria bancrofti).. Two Aedes species are of particular concern: Ae. aegypti, a European introduction, and Ae. polynesiensis, which is native to the Pacific Islands. While the former is tightly associated with human habitations, the latter is particularly difficult to control as it occurs widely in semi-urban, agricultural, and natural ecosystems. The larvae of Ae. polynesiensis develop in a great variety of usually small, often cryptic domestic and natural water containers including rat-chewed coconuts and the burrows of terrestrial crabs underground. Abundant in the Society islands, these natural containers can lead to mosquito hyper infestations. Furthermore, biting mainly outdoors at dusk and dawn Ae. polynesiensis presents a significant nuisance impacting local communities and tourists alike. Much is spent on repellents and insecticides, which are not only expensive but also threaten the whole island ecosystem and its biodiversity. Given the primary role of tourism in French Polynesia, mosquito control is therefore an economic issue, as well as a public health and environmental concern.

French Polynesia is a world-leader in the fight against mosquito vectors, particularly species found across the Pacific Islands like Ae. polynesiensis. Control of Ae. polynesiensis on Huahine is especially important today as the island represents one of the few places in French Polynesia where W. bancrofti, the nematode worm causing lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), still circulates. Decades of treatment of the human population through community-wide anti-filarial drug administration has been successful in French Polynesia and around the world but has not succeeded on Huahine. Control of the mosquito vector is therefore particularly important in the effort to finally eliminate this disease (a global goal of WHO). Mosquito control will also help Huahine to develop its tourism sector, such as projects planned for sites like Hana Iti.

The MOZEROA project will contribute fundamental baseline data (including spatial mosquito population genomics analysis) and knowledge necessary to control mosquito populations at key sites on Huahine, such as Hana Iti, while developing an ambitious vision for island-wide mosquito elimination by 2030. Importantly, this will include outreach to the local population including educational information about the challenges and opportunities of innovative mosquito control. The project will leverage French Polynesia’s newly built capacity (ILM’s INNOVENTOMO “mosquito factory”), an infrastructure unique in France and the Pacific, for massive release of sterilized male mosquitoes.

Planning Phase

The Mozeroa Huahine project is envisaged in two phases over 3 years. Here we present a proposal for the planning phase (Phase 1), which will conduct field and laboratory studies of mosquito populations, carry out community engagement on Huahine, organize a workshop at the Island Health and Sustainability Conference (on Moorea), and analyze the findings to develop plans and submit a proposal for the implementation phase (Phase 2 - approximately two years).

Work Packages

• WP1. Field Studies: ILM (Bossin) will recruit and supervise a Huahine-based field team (one research scientist and two local technicians) who will carry out larval container surveys to characterize the main sources of mosquito infestation on the island. The team will collect data on mosquito species distribution and abundance across Huahine. Mosquito population dynamics will be monitored weekly to determine the seasonal fluctuations of mosquito nuisance. Mosquito specimens will also be sampled at a finer scale in specific areas of medical (motu Maeva, Faie district) or economic importance (commune of Fare) for genetic analyses. Furthermore, the team will provide its expertise to the local health authorities and conduct a filarial ‘xeno-monitoring’ survey to map the remaining hot spots of active filarial transmission after a recent round of anti-filarial drug administration. Combined with other relevant information (weather data, satellite imagery, remote sensing) these baseline entomological data will be used to develop an underlying model that will guide future control efforts.

  • Outputs:

    • Biosamples

    • Genetic, ecological, environmental data

    • Vector and pathogen distribution maps

• WP2. Community Engagement: ILM (Bossin) field team will engage the people of Huahine, local schools, and government to raise awareness of how mosquito species impact on human health and wellbeing and ecological resilience, and of potential solutions to address these challenges, including innovative approaches to mosquito control. These outreach activities will disseminate results of the successful control programs on Tetiaroa atoll as an example of what is possible.

  • Outputs:

    • Community meetings

    • Educational materials

• WP3. Population Ecology: ILM (Bossin, Mathieu-Daude) will process samples collected by the field team in Huahine for biomolecular analysis. The genetic information will be analyzed in collaboration with UC Berkeley (Roderick) and combined with ecological and environmental data (Stoll) in population models developed by UC Berkeley (Marshall) and INRAE Avignon (Gabriel) to provide an important baseline for the control program.

  • Outputs:

    • Population models

    • Scientific publication

• WP4. Data Curation: UC Berkeley (Davies) will lead development of the project’s data management plan in accordance with FAIR (open science) and CARE (Indigenous data sovereignty) data principles—leveraging previous work on place-based data trusts (FAIR Island, iPlaces) and the curation of research data associated with biological samples (Biocode, GEOME, iSamples).

  • Outputs:

    • Data Management Plan

    • Place-based data trust for Huahine research data

• WP5. Project Workshop: UC Berkeley (Davies) will organize a project workshop during the Island Health and Sustainability Conference held in November at the Gump Station on Moorea. Drawing on the fieldwork and analyses (WP1–3), participants will develop plans for a targeted ‘proof of concept’ control program on Huahine in 2025–2026. Potential for collaboration with 5Media in a communication strategy will also be explored.

  • Outputs:

    • Draft report to assess how suppression/elimination of mosquitoes could (i) directly support the public health program to finally eliminate lymphatic filariasis from Huahine, and (ii) demonstrate the feasibility of island-wide mosquito suppression or elimination on tropical high islands in the Pacific.

    • Recommended communications strategy

Objectives

The Project will publish a Report assessing the feasibility of large-scale control or elimination of mosquito populations on Huahine. The Report will include a detailed plan and budget for the implementation phase (2025–2026), during which the Project envisages the experimental treatment of localized sites, with a targeted ‘proof of concept’ control program focusing on Motu Maeva and the district of Faie where the pathogen for lymphatic filariasis is known to be circulating more intensely. Suppression/elimination of mosquitoes from these populated areas will directly support the public health program to finally eliminate lymphatic filariasis from Huahine.

Summary of Year 1 deliverables:

• Baseline entomological field data and other important genetic, ecological and environmental data for the development of population models

• All project data accessible, subject to applicable laws and regulations, through an open place-based data trust infrastructure.

• Maps of mosquito distribution and abundance in specific areas of medical or economic importance on the island

• Filarial xenomonitoring survey completed and results communicated to and discussed with local health authorities for relevant disease control and prevention actions.

Timeline & Reporting

The precise dates will be confirmed with input from key participants and stakeholders. Project leads will be available for quarterly updates (online calls) as desired.

Planning Phase (current proposal)

Year 1

Q1. (April-June 2024) Project initiation; kick-off meeting of Project Leaders

Q2. (July-Sept 2024) Field work - Huahine

Q3. (Oct-Dec 2024) Field work - Huahine; Project workshop and update (progress report) at the annual “Island Health & Sustainability Conference” (November, Moorea)

Q4. (Jan-Mar 2025) Field work - Huahine; Report and Proposal for Year 2

Q5. (Apr-June 2025) Field work - Huahine (transition to Implementation Phase)

Implementation Phase (anticipated)

Year 2 Field work - Huahine

• 2025

  • AprilProject Leaders Meeting (Moorea)

  • NovemberProject workshop and update (progress report) at the annual “Island Health & Sustainability Conference” (Moorea)

• 2026

  • March - Report and Proposal for Year 3

Year 3 Field work - Huahine

• 2026

  • AprilProject Leaders Meeting (Moorea)

  • NovemberProject workshop and update (progress report) at the annual “Island Health & Sustainability Conference” (Moorea)

• 2027

  • MarchFinal Report