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A media conference on Sterile Male Mosquitoes as a Way to suppress Dngue in Sri Lanka was held at Kingsburry hotel on Oct. 22. Managing Director of Omega Global Holdings Pvt. Ltd. Manik Suriyaaratchi addresses journalists while officials of Oxitec look on. Pic by Kamal BogodaBy Don Asoka Wijewardena

Oxitec Field Studies Director Kevin Gorman announced yesterday that Oxitec Company formed by researchers from the Oxford University had developed a technology to render male mosquitoes infertile so as to eliminate the dengue vector.

Gorman told a media briefing in Colombo that, first of all, it was essential to understand that male mosquitoes did not bite or pose any threat to humans.

Gorman said that the genetically sterile male had been developed and refined over ten years and successfully used in several parts of the world. For instance, in the Cayman Islands, in the Caribbean, the technology had helped suppress the dengue mosquito population by over 80 per cent within four months. In Brazil the suppression rate ranged from 85 per cent to 96 per cent in four to six months.

Those results showed the potential for the sterile male technology to rapidly and sustainably reduce the dengue carrying mosquito population without exposing the humans and animals living in the area to potentially toxic chemical pesticides, Gorman said.

Omega Global Debug Solution (Pvt) Ltd Managing Director Manik Suriyaaratchi said that environmental compatibility was a hallmark of sterile male mosquitoes. There were no toxins involved and, therefore, there was no potential for environmental contamination because non-biting male mosquitoes would fly in search of females.

They would reach areas where traditional fogging techniques could not reach––behind walls, locked doors and on construction sites.

She said that the dengue carrying Aedes aegypti population was not invasive or endemic to Sri Lanka.

Oxitec and its local agent Omega Global Debug solution are now negotiating with the Health Ministry to introduce the sterile male mosquito to Sri Lanka.

Source:www.island.lk