Information and communication are essential components in ensuring the successful implementation of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) project, which forms part of the integrated vector management strategy to tackle mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue and chikungunya.
This was the gist of the message of the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, on Thursday morning, at the official ceremony to kickstart the Sterile release program of sterile Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in the Champ de Mars area.
The ceremony was organised by the Vector Biology and Control Division, operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, at Taher Bagh Hall, in Port-Louis, located in the Champ de Mars region. The Head of the Division, Dr Diana Pillay Iyaloo, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Project Manager of the national SIT project, Dr Sulafa Karar, were present as well at the event.
The sterile release programme is part of a national project being implemented with the collaboration of the IAEA entitled, ‘Enhancing National Capabilities on the Suppression of Aedes albopictus in an Urban Locality Using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as Part of an Integrated Vector Management Strategy’. It consists, among others, of the rearing and releases of sterile male mosquitoes to induce sterility in the female mosquito population as they are the ones that bite and transmit diseases.
In his address for the occasion, Minister Jagutpal stated that based on field results regarding the density of mosquitoes in Mauritius, the Aedes albopictus mosquito, also known as Tiger mosquito, was the most dominant mosquito, and had been in the past responsible for the transmission of chikungunya and dengue. He explained that under the SIT, some 60,000 to 100,000 sterilised male Tiger mosquitoes would be released, weekly, in areas containing the highest density of Tiger mosquito across Mauritius such as Champ de Mars. “The females fertilised by these males would then lay eggs that would never hatch, thereby decreasing the population of Tiger mosquitoes,” he said.
According to Dr Jagutpal, the SIT was the latest modern innovative and environment-friendly method in the integrated vector management strategy to control the mosquito population and prevent vector-borne diseases. He pointed out that it was critical to educate and sensitise the population, especially the residents of the targeted areas where the mosquitoes were in high density, to make them understand that the releases of the sterilised male mosquitoes do not cause any nuisance. The Minister averred that informing the residents and ensuring the acceptance of the project were essential in the implementation of this environment-friendly technique.
