Argentina is using radiation to sterilize mosquitoes and change their DNA before releasing them into the environment to combat one of the country's worst outbreaks of dengue fever in recent years.
According to government data, the South American nation has reported more than 41,000 cases of the disease this year, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. This is a significant increase compared to previous major outbreaks in 2020 and 2016.
Marianela Garcia Alba, a biologist with the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), stated that the mosquito is spreading more due to the increase in temperature both in Argentina and globally, and that their population is moving southward.
To address the outbreak, CNEA biologists have been conducting experiments with atomic sterilization since 2016.They are currently sterilizing 10,000 male mosquitoes per week and plan to increase that number to 500,000. The first batch of sterilized male mosquitoes is expected to be released in November.
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