Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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January 17, 2026 Climate and environment
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Austrian city of Graz announced the first results of an experiment to sterilize male mosquitoes. This technique could form the basis of a pest control strategy that involves the safe mass breeding and sterilization of insects using radiation.
The Aedes albopictus mosquito, also known as the "tiger mosquito," was first detected in Austria in 2012 and has since spread to all federal states. Graz has seen particularly high mosquito populations in recent years. In response to the growing number of complaints and the increasing risk of arboviruses spreading across Europe, the city of Graz requested support from the Vienna-based IAEA to initiate a study using the MRR method.
MRR research involves releasing and recapturing a certain number of already marked – covered with colored powder – sterile male mosquitoes in a defined area to study the behavior of the local population.
Progress of the experiment
Over the course of seven weeks in August and September last year, over 800,000 sterile mosquitoes were released into a 15-hectare area in a garden district in southern Graz. These males were sterilized by radiation, meaning that successful mating with wild females would not produce offspring.
Mosquito populations, including invasive species like Aedes albopictus, are rapidly expanding across Europe and globally due to changing weather patterns, urbanization, and increased international trade. Warmer weather and changing rainfall patterns are creating favorable breeding conditions, allowing species previously restricted to the tropics to establish themselves in temperate latitudes. This expanding range poses increasing public health challenges, as mosquitoes transmit dangerous diseases, including chikungunya, dengue, and the Zika virus.
Results of data analysis
Analysis of data from recaptured mosquitoes in a study conducted jointly by the City of Graz and the IAEA provides key scientific information on the size of the wild mosquito population, the range of sterile males, their survival in the wild, and their competitiveness during mating.
"These preliminary results provide us with a basis for determining the optimal implementation of the sterile insect technique in Graz," said Hanano Yamada, an entomologist at the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre for Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. "This information is essential for determining the scale, frequency, and geographic coverage of future releases of sterile mosquitoes for pest control."
High efficiency of the technique
Preliminary results of the study demonstrated the high effectiveness of the method. The egg sterility rate was approximately 70 percent, and the number of females captured in traps significantly decreased over the study period compared to a neighboring untreated plot. This demonstrates that sterile males successfully compete with wild mosquitoes and that their release can significantly reduce mosquito populations in densely populated urban areas.
Based on the results obtained, the City of Graz and the IAEA are preparing recommendations for next steps for the 2026 mosquito breeding season.
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