2023-04-19 10:00:00
The Terratis company aims to create a farm by 2028 to sterilize insects and thus control their population.
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Chikungunya, dengue fever, malaria… Tiger mosquitoes transmit diseases which can be dangerous to humans. For several years, research has attempted to reduce the number of these insects by intervening in their reproduction. This is called the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). In this idea, Terratis, a Montpellier company, wants to create a farm to accommodate, sterilize and then release males into the wild, reports 20 minutes.
A first in France
By 2028, the structure of several thousand square meters might host tiger mosquitoes near Montpellier. “This farm will host massive breedingindicates at 20 minutes Clelia Oliva, co-founder of Terratis. It will be a secure building, which will prevent the entry and exit of insects. There are similar farms in China or Singapore, but this will be the first oneIn France.” On Reunion Island, for example, the sterilization of males made it possible in 2022 to reduce fertility at the level of a district to 60%, illustrates a statement from the University of Montpellier, which supports the company.
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The first tests begin from next year. The objective is not the eradication of the species, “but the decrease in the population of tiger mosquitoes, in the territories where they are harmful”she says. “By doing such releases, repeatedly, the number of tiger mosquitoes is considerably reduced.”
“The SIT makes it possible to gradually reduce the populations of tiger mosquitoes on a territory by playing on its reproduction cycle. Mosquito males do not bite, it is simply a matter of releasing sterilized males to mate with wild females for block their reproduction”the statement said.
To be able to implement its project, the company was pre-selected, at the request of the University of Montpellier, to receive financial aid from the French Tech Lab (BFT Lab) grant.
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