What are the benefits of using Oxitec mosquitoes over other control methods?
There are several benefits: This is the only currently available approach that has the potential to reduce the Aedes aegypti population to a level below which disease is not transmitted. (The use of insecticides or community actions is often impractical or not cost effective due to the variety and locations of potential breeding sites). It also reduces the threat of chikungunya and yellow fever diseases which are also spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The Oxitec mosquitoes that are released are all males and hence do not bite or spread disease It is a method of biological control and is likely to be less costly and more effective than using humans with chemical sprays or fogging devices to kill the biting females as it harnesses the natural instinct of the male mosquito to actively seek female mosquitoes of its own species. It is an environmentally friendly approach (no toxic chemicals are used): the sterile male mosquitoes released will only mate with their own species and hence no