The article links to the project's announcement, https://blog.verily.com/2017/07/debug-fresno-our-first-us-field-study.html https://blog.verily.com/2017/07/debu

The article links to the project's announcement, https://blog.verily.com/2017/07/debug-fresno-our-first-us-field-study.html https://blog.verily.com/2017/07/debug-fresno-our-first-us-fi... , which says > "Debug Fresno will target the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can transmit diseases like Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Aedes aegypti first appeared in the central valley of California in 2013, and since then has become pervasive in Fresno County. This study will be the largest U.S. release to-date of sterile male mosquitoes treated with Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacterium, and will take place over a 20 week period in two neighborhoods each approximately 300 acres in size. When these sterile males mate with wild females the resulting eggs will not hatch." So it's targeting the mosquitoes themselves, not just the viruses they carry.