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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
Building a Better Mosquito: Identifying the Genes Enabling Malaria and Dengue Fever Resistance in A. gambiae and A. aegypti Mosquitoes
Published on: July 4, 2007
Current status and future challenges for controlling malaria with the sterile insect technique: technical and social
Clelia F Oliva1, Marc J B Vreysen2, Sandrine Dupé3
1Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria; MIVEGEC (IRD 224-CNRS 5290-UM1-UM2) Montpellier, Montpellier, France; Centre de Recherche et de Veille sur les Maladies Emergentes dans l'Océan Indien, 2 rue Maxime Rivière, 97490 Sainte Clotilde, La Réunion, France.
Abstract:
The intolerable burden of malaria, when faced with high levels of drug resistance, increasing insecticide resistance and meagre resources at the national level, remains a great public health challenge to governments and the research/control community. Efficient control methods against the vectors of malaria are desperately needed. Control strategies for malaria that integrate the transfer of sterile sperm by released males to wild virgin females with other control tactics are currently being developed, and optimised mass-rearing, irradiation and release techniques are being validated in several field sites. However, the success of this strategy as part of wider pest control or health management programmes strongly depends on gaining public understanding and acceptance. Here we attempt to review what progress has been made and the remaining challenges surrounding the use of the sterile insect technique against malaria from technical and social perspectives.
