Nuclear Technique Used in Europe for First time to Battle Yellow Fever Mosquito Found in Cyprus
Nuclear Technique Used in Europe for First time to Battle Yellow Fever Mosquito Found in Cyprus
Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, Sterile insect technique (SIT)IAEA, IAEA, 2023.
Cyprus this month released the first batch of 100,000 sterile mosquitos to begin the implementation of a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) project testing the use of a nuclear technique to eradicate an invasive species of mosquitoes found in the country.Cyprus confirmed the presence of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, also called Yellow Fever mosquito, on the island in 2022. This species of mosquito can carry serious vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever and Zika. The Aedes albopictus – also a carrier for such diseases – was also confirmed to be present on the island in 2022. Vector-borne diseases cause over 700,000 global deaths per year and the presence of the two species poses an immediate threat to Cyprus’ economy and healthcare system in case of a disease outbreak.
