Sri Lanka, June 23 -- Questions have been raised over the fate of Sri Lanka's pilot project involving the use of Wolbachia bacteria to control dengue, with specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa claiming that the initiative was discontinued despite its potential benefits.

Dr. Sanjeewa, Chairman of the Doctors' Trade Union Alliance for Medical and Civil Rights, said several countries had invested heavily in Wolbachia-based dengue control programmes and achieved successful results, but Sri Lanka's efforts had reportedly stopped midway.

He said Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacterium, helps control dengue transmission by reducing the ability of the Aedes aegypti mosquito to spread the virus and by limiting mosquito populations.

According to h...