In this success story, Harris County Public Health (HCPH) shares their insights on two vector control strategies that were originally carried out in India, Brazil, and Australia before they were adopted by Harris County. The first was the use of Wolbachia (an endosymbiotic bacteria genus present in many insects, but absent from some medically important mosquito vectors, including Aedes aegypti) to halt the ability of female mosquitoes from producing viable offspring. The second is the use of the “Smart Trap” technology to capture disease-spreading mosquitoes and provide needed data for vector control. The adoption of these global projects led to the establishment of close partnerships with global public health leaders and stakeholders while enabling HCPH to tap into international expertise and innovation in combating emerging diseases in Harris County moving forward. While these are both in the early stages of evaluation, both have shown their unique potential, as well the potential success that looking outside U.S. borders for solutions to vexing challenges can provide.

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