A new scientific method to control mosquitoes has been launched in Washington in the United States. Under the initiative, about 600,000 (6 lakh) male Asian tiger mosquitoes are to be released. These mosquitoes carry a natural bacterium called “Wolbachia”, and the male mosquitoes do not bite people, the news agency AFP reported.
When these male mosquitoes mate with female mosquitoes that lack the bacterium, the females’ eggs no longer hatch. The birth of new mosquitoes thus stops, gradually reducing the mosquito population.
Todd Montgomery, founder of the mosquito-control firm Be Safe Mosquito Control, has taken the initiative. About 600,000 mosquitoes are to be released in various residential areas of Washington by the end of summer. Currently 25 customers have joined the programme, each receiving 1,500 male mosquitoes a week for 16 weeks.
Montgomery said that because of climate change, the number of warm, humid days is rising in many parts of the United States, extending the time disease-carrying mosquitoes breed and stay active. It is therefore necessary to find an alternative to chemical pesticides for mosquito control.
The method is being used mainly against the Asian tiger mosquito, which is not native to the United States but can spread the germs of various diseases, including dengue. Concern over mosquito-borne disease has also grown after locally transmitted dengue cases were detected in northern Virginia.
Montgomery said reducing pesticide use is one of the main goals of his initiative. Some of his customers are also worried about the possible effects of chemicals on their families and pets, and have chosen this alternative method of mosquito control.
The Wolbachia method is not new. A large-scale programme called “Project Wolbachia” has run in Singapore since 2016, where more than 10 million male mosquitoes are said to be released each week.
Research has shown that using Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes can reduce the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and significantly cut the risk of dengue infection. Interest in the method for mosquito control is therefore growing in various countries.
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