Entomology Unit
Mosquitoes
A Possible Solution: The Sterile Insect Technique
One possibility for the control of Anopheles mosquitoes is the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). SIT relies on mass rearing and release of sterilized insects. The released males mate with wild female mosquitoes, preventing production of offspring. Repeated releases lead to population suppression and can, under certain circumstances, lead to eventual eradication.
The high reproductive rate of mosquito populations will place special requirements on any use of the SIT. Feasibility studies for the control of the mosquitoes Anopheles albimanus and An. stephensi using SIT were conducted in El Salvador and in India in the 1970s respectively, but were not completed and the potential of the method is therefore unknown, although very promising results were obtained in the El Salvador trial. New technology and the concept of integrated vector management will be combined in an attempt to evaluate the use of SIT as a component of mosquito control.
