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WHO, the UN agency for health, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been working on a new technique for sterilizing mosquitoes, including tiger mosquitoes. Large-scale tests will be launched in some 20 countries next year to eradicate dengue, zika and chikungunya.
With our correspondent in Geneva, Jérémie Lanche
The technique of insect sterilization is not new. It has been used since the late 1950s to control populations of certain pests in crops.
On paper, it seems simple: we breed male mosquitoes in large quantities. They are irradiated to make them sterile and then released on the ground or in the air by drones to replace other males at the time of reproduction. More progeny, so more diseases.
" We can reduce the density of tiger mosquitoes from 95 to 98%," explains Jérémy Bouyer, who works on the program at the International Atomic Energy Agency . But eradicating all of this invasive species, even at one place on the planet, will not be easy. I do not even think it's feasible. Mosquitoes are everywhere. They move with our luggage, with commercial cargo ... The goal is not to exterminate them. The goal is to eliminate enough so that they do not transmit more diseases .
Dengue fever is of particular concern to WHO. After a drop in 2017-2018, cases are increasing all over the world. With 4 million people potentially infected in 2019. The cause is rising temperatures and heavy rains in some areas.
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WHO does not want to give an objective. But an expert estimates that if the sterilization of mosquitoes works, we could quickly halve the number of people infected with dengue, chikungunya and zika .
► To read also: Congo-Brazzaville: an epidemic of chikungunya affects half of the country