Should stop Zika with hot and sterile mosquitoes – Aftonbladet

Zikaviruset spread exponentially in South America and the Caribbean.

Now, a Swedish help sterilize Brazilian hanmygg.

– You want to get them horny and alert so that the mosquitoes think they mate, but the eggs are added is not fertilized, says insect expert Jan Lundström, combating leader of mosquito fight at the river Dalälven.

the spread of zikaviruset and the serious complications that scientists believe is linked to the disease have been made to the wHO declared the situation of an international emergency.

In Brazil, thousands of children born with microcephaly, which can lead to, among other things, paralysis and visual impairments.

in late February, a number of experts meeting in the South American country to draw up a plan of action to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads zikaviruset. Participants include the Swedish mosquito expert Jan Lundström. He explains the plan that you have for mosquitoes.

– They are difficult to control because they are small and need very little water for their larvae. Moreover, they have developed resistance to both the old DDT and other toxins. What remains is then to sterilize the males, says Jan Lundström.

Flugmetod against mosquitoes

To sterilize the mosquitoes are not something that can be done with tongs and tweezers. Instead, it uses a technology from Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA.

– It is a technique that comes from them and their operations with the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Nowadays we have gone over to X-rays with which to destroy the germ cells of mosquitoes. It is an extremely environmentally friendly method and very effective to crack a population, says Jan Lundström.

This method has previously been used with great effect against several types of flies, including fruit flies, Jan Lundstrom.

– the males are placed, preferably hot and alert so that the mosquitoes think they mate, but the eggs that are added are not fertilized.

this method is called in short Sterile Insect technique (SIT).

“Cheaper than a moon mission”

the meeting in late February is a strategy meeting, but Jan Lundström believes that the method will be successful as long as you put in enough resources.

– this stick mosquito has a rapid generation time so a month, they can basically disappear from the area where you put it out here. It’s all about resources, I want to say emphatically. And it involves far less money than putting a man on the moon, says Jan Lundström.

If you get the method to work as intended believe Jan Lundström that there may be a paradigm shift for how to combat mosquitoes.

– So it feels very exciting to be part of this.

Jan Lundström is fighting the leader of the fight against mosquitoes at the river Dalälven. He goes to Brazil on February 20 for a week long conference.

In addition to Brazil, including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Indonesia requested access to the IAEA technology, reports Reuters news agency.