Locally Acquired Dengue in Townsville, Australia, 2024–2025: An Outbreak Report in a Non-Endemic Region with wMel Wolbachia-Infected Aedes aegypti

During the 2024/2025 wet season, Townsville had its first sustained autochthonous outbreak of dengue disease caused by dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2), the second locally transmitted outbreak of dengue since 2014 following the introduction of <i>w</i>Mel strain <i>Wolbachia</i>-infected mosquitoes, a control strategy for dengue virus (DENV) and other <i>Aedes</i>-transmitted arboviruses. In comparison to two recorded locally acquired cases of dengue in 2020, the 2024/2025 outbreak resulted in sixteen cases in two inner-city suburbs of Townsville during the wet season associated with higher-than-average rainfall. This second dengue outbreak since 2014 highlights that Townsville and other north Queensland communities where <i>Wolbachia</i> mosquito programs have been deployed remain vulnerable to DENV incursions and local disease outbreaks despite the apparent high coverage of <i>Wolbachia</i>-infected mosquitoes. Whilst these control strategies have likely contributed to a reduction in the number and frequency of autochthonous DENV outbreaks in north Queensland, ongoing maintenance and monitoring of <i>Wolbachia</i>-infected mosquito coverage is necessary, together with timely review and improvement in dengue awareness and prevention health promotion activities in the community.