After six months of releasing sterilized male mosquitoes, capable of fertilizing females in the natural environment which will then lay eggs incapable of hatching, the fertility of the stinging insect has decreased by almost 50% in Duparc. This district of Sainte-Marie was chosen by the Research Institute for Development to test the sterile insect technique applied to the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), vector of dengue and chikungunya, among others. The releases started in July 2021 and will continue until July 2022. The research program started in 2009 and was able to enter an operational phase last year with the commissioning of an insectary co-financed by Europe, the State and the Region, capable of producing 150,000 mosquitoes sterilized by irradiation each week. The IRD's objective is to achieve 70 to 80% sterility in the Duparc sector., where a survey was started among the population to find out if the perception of the quantity of mosquito bites by the population evolves in the same way as the fertility rate of the insect. If the sterile mosquito technique proves effective, Réunion should be provided with an industrial unit for the production of sterile insects in order to carry out this fight simultaneously throughout the island..
Sterile mosquitoes : first convincing results in Duparc
