Kenyan scientists are creating “oral contraceptives” to sterilise male mosquitoes in a bid to control malaria. The researchers are first testing the sterilising agent in the laboratory and if it works, they will use it on mosquitoes in the field.
They hope to eventually lure mosquitoes with sugar laced with the agent, strategically near homes and breeding sites. Male mosquitoes feed exclusively on sugar, unlike females, which need blood to produce eggs.
The research is led by Dr Luna Kamau, the head of the Biotechnology Programme at Kenya Medical Research Institute.“We are first working on proof of concept, to prove it actually works in the laboratory. After that we will carry out field tests,” she told the Star yesterday. Kamau said mosquitoes are extremely monogamous and breed just once in their lives.
So once the females have bred with the sterile males, it is hoped they will have missed their chance to have babies and pass on the disease.
Additionally, females are unable to tell between sterile and fertile males, Kemri said in a statement yesterday. Kamau is working with three other scientists on the project, which ends in April next year.
Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases in Kenya and kills about 30,000 people every year. Sterilising insects is not a new idea. It was used to eradicate the screw worm in the US in the 1980s. In South Africa, farmers have tackled fruit flies and moth in the same way.