2024-10-27 03:50:00
The idea seems contradictory: Numerous male mosquitoes were released last Friday Aedes aegizi in nature, so that they mate more and better with the females that are about to lay their eggs. Of course there’s a problem: These males were previously irradiated by researchers at the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) to return them sterile.
The idea is that these altered mosquitoes “compete” with normal ones when it comes to breeding. But since they are sterile, the eggs laid by their females will hatch but have no offspring. Result: in a few weeks in the test area you should start to notice a significant reduction in the number of mosquitoes Aedes, which are the vector through which the dengue virus spreads. Fewer mosquitoes, fewer cases. And also less risk of other infections such as Zika fever or chikungunya.
Last Friday the first 25 thousand copies were released in .format Neighborhood One of Ezeizcarry out a final test with marking, release and recapture supervised by international experts.
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This idea is not new and, in other countries, It has been tested for several years. Is called technique of the sterile insect (TIE) for the control of mosquitoes of the genus Aedes sppespecially the species Aegizi.
And it can be used to control insect pests that cause damage to agricultural production or transmit diseases. Specialists assure that “it is a safe and, moreover, ecological technique, since avoid fumigation of chemical pesticides to try to reduce the populations of these insects.”
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The CNEA also explains that “it is essentially made up of breeding of male mosquitoes in the laboratory. There they are sterilized using controlled ionizing radiation. The only effect of this process is that it makes them incapable of reproducing.”
They are then released into the territory. When the “modified” newcomers mate with wild females, the result is that they have no offspring and therefore the insect population is progressively reduced.
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The interesting thing is that experts can identify them because they have been “colored” with a harmless fluorescent powder. These male specimens, it should be remembered, do not bite (only female Aedes do) and for this reason they cannot transmit diseases.
The project began in 2016, when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) convened the CNEA to develop a project who tried to apply this technique to control the population of Aedes aegizi in all countries of the region. The tests and preliminary studies were carried out at the Ezeiza Atomic Center, with its Department of Agricultural Applications.
The massive release of mosquitoes in the 40 hectares of Barrio Uno is scheduled for the end of November, with batches of up to 80 thousand males per week for a year.
The positive impact is expected to be seen after the first four months.
Similar techniques are already used successfully for control fruit fly plague in the Cuyo region. There are also successful cases of its use against Aedes a Egypti in the United States, Spain, Italy, Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland, Chile, Brazil and Mexico.
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