In Brazil, a new innovative method of combating the spread of diseases carried by mosquitoes has been successfully tested using drones. The method involves the daily distribution of 300 thousand sterile mosquitoes to fight diseases such as malaria.
This method utilizes the sterile insect technique (SIT), where mosquito males are sterilized and released to mate with wild females. The offspring from these unions do not survive, ultimately reducing the mosquito population. This technique, developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been used for over 50 years to control harmful insect populations.
The new aspect of this method is the use of drones for distributing sterile mosquitoes to hard-to-reach areas, making the process faster and more efficient. One drone can spread 17 thousand insects in just 10 minutes, covering an area of about 100 thousand square meters.
Tests have shown that this approach can reduce the population of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, carriers of diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and chikungunya, by 90% in just 3-4 weeks, a significant improvement compared to the 3-4 months required when using ground vehicles. The use of drones not only speeds up the process but also makes it more effective, leading to a decrease in mosquito breeding grounds.