Brazil to use gamma rays to fight Zika virus
Brazil will be soon be using gamma rays to stop the spread of Zika virus in the region. Gamma rays will sterilize male mosquitoes to stop them from reproducing.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will send a cobalt-60 gamma cell irradiator to the Brazilian non-profit Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) centre Moscamed in Juazeiro, Bahia.
The machine is an essential component in the use of SIT, a form of pest control that uses ionizing radiation to sterilize male insects mass-produced in special facilities. Once released, these males mate with wild females who do not produce any offspring, effectively suppressing the insect population over time. Read more about the potential use of the technique to control the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus here.
“Moscamed has long experience in applying SIT to fight insect pests, and was one of the first facilities to mass rear sterilized mosquitoes in the world,” said Moscamed Director Jair Virginio. “The irradiator would allow our facility to produce up to 12 million sterilized male Aedes aegypti mosquitos per week, reaching up to 750 000 people in 15 municipalities in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Pernambuco, which have been particularly hard-hit by Zika.”
The announcement was made as international experts from 12 countries gathered in Brasilia for a two-day meeting to share experiences on the use of SIT as part of a comprehensive approach to control mosquito populations along with other methods, such as site inspections and fumigation.
Experts at the meeting agreed that SIT was an efficient, safe, environmentally neutral and sustainable method to control mosquito populations and fight vector-borne diseases like Zika and dengue fever.
