Why new-fangled mosquito controls should not replace tried and tested methods

In the last 40 years of mosquito-borne viruses such as malaria, yellow fever and dengue, scientists have introduced myriad interventions to control the population of mosquitoes. This is because controlling mosquitoes has a large effect on controlling the diseases since the mosquito is the vector that carries them.

Novel mosquito-control approaches have included everything from deploying sterile male mosquitoes to soaps that could prevent people in high-risk malaria areas from contracting mosquito-borne diseases.

Zika, the latest mosquito-borne virus to be declared a global health emergency, has once again propelled innovations to tackle the control of mosquitoes.

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