Publications by authors named "N S Bimbile-Somda"
Article Synopsis
- - The sterile insect technique involves releasing sterile male insects to mate with wild females, effectively reducing the population by inducing sterility in females and is being developed for Aedes mosquitoes.
- - High ratios of sterile males to wild females can lead to decreased longevity and feeding success in female Aedes mosquitoes due to mating harassment and reduced blood uptake.
- - A field trial in China showed an 80% reduction in female biting rates and a 40% decrease in female mosquito density, indicating this technique can also lower disease transmission by increasing female mortality and reducing contact with hosts.
In the last decade, the use of the sterile insect technique (SIT) to suppress mosquito vectors have rapidly expanded in many countries facing the complexities of scaling up production and procedures to sustain large-scale operational programs. While many solutions have been proposed to improve mass production, sex separation and field release procedures, relatively little attention has been devoted to effective mass sterilization of mosquitoes. Since irradiation of pupae en masse has proven difficult to standardise with several variables affecting dose response uniformity, the manipulation of adult mosquitoes appears to be the most promising method to achieve effective and reliable sterilization of large quantities of mosquitoes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenetic sexing strains (GSS), such as the Ceratitis capitata (medfly) VIENNA 8 strain, facilitate male-only releases and improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of sterile insect technique (SIT) applications. Laboratory domestication may reduce their genetic diversity and mating behaviour and hence, refreshment with wild genetic material is frequently needed. As wild males do not carry the T(Y;A) translocation, and wild females do not easily conform to artificial oviposition, the genetic refreshment of this GSS is a challenging and time-consuming process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - The study focuses on developing a new method for safely transporting sterile male mosquitoes over long distances for pilot programs using the sterile insect technique (SIT).
- - Different types of mosquito transport boxes were tested to evaluate how well the mosquitoes survived, flew, and sustained any physical damage during transit, aiming for high-quality delivery from the lab to field sites.
- - The results showed that the new transport method allows for successful shipment of sterile males for up to four days, achieving over 90% survival after 48 hours and improving their escape ability by over 20% with a recovery period post-transport.
The sterile insect technique (SIT) is based on the inundatory field release of a target pest following their reproductive sterilization via exposure to radiation. Until recently, gamma irradiation from isotopic sources has been the most widely used in SIT programs. As isotopic sources are becoming increasingly expensive, especially for small programs, and regulations surrounding their procurement and shipment increasingly strict, irradiation capacity is one of the limiting factors in smaller or newly developing SIT projects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF