The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), the release of sexually sterile male insects to wipe out a pest population, is one suggested solution to the problem of malaria in Africa. A new supplement, published in BioMed Central's open access Malaria Journal, reviews the history of the technique, and features details about aspects of its application in the elimination of malaria.
The supplement, edited by Dr Mark Benedict, who along with the other editors led the development of this technology at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, describes how SIT may be used against the vectors for malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, Anopheles mosquitoes. He said, "In the context of elimination, SIT could play a unique role. As part of an area-wide integrated pest management programme, the SIT may be able to minimize problems due to insecticide resistance to antimalarial drugs. Because it is uniquely effective at low mosquito densities, SIT might be just the thing to deliver the final blow to mosquito populations and to completely remove malaria from a given area".