Ecuador to release sterile mosquitoes in Galapagos to fight disease
Inspi researchers have been working on the project for six years, which includes mass cultivation of Aedes aegypti in the laboratory and sterilization by radiation.
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An Aedes aegypti mosquito that can spread dengue, Zika, and chikungunya (AFP)
Ecuador will release 100,000 sterile Aedes aegypti mosquitos on the Galapagos Islands to reduce dengue, Zika, and chikungunya transmission, officials announced Friday.
The National Institute for Health Research (Inspi) said the first such initiative with sterile mosquitoes should help cut the rates of infection from such diseases among local inhabitants and tourists.
The plan should "improve health conditions of the people, avoiding the spread of diseases to tourists... and minimizing the usage of chemical goods used in fumigation," an Inspi statement said.
The Galapagos Islands, a World Heritage Site with distinctive flora and wildlife, were made renowned by British geologist and biologist Charles Darwin's studies on evolution there.
The islands are around 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the coast of the mainland.
Inspi researchers have been working on the project for six years, which includes mass cultivation of Aedes aegypti in the laboratory and sterilization by radiation.
The discharge of mosquitoes that are unable to fertilize females has an effect on the species' population, lowering it and consequently the transmission of diseases.
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