In Florida Keys, Scientists Sterilize Mosquitoes In Fight Against Zika

04:47

July 13, 2017

Nancy Klingener, WLRN

Catherine Pruszynski, a research entomologist with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, releases male mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria Tuesday on Stock Island. (Nancy Klingener/WLRN)

Three times a week, in a 10-acre control area in the Florida Keys, biologists release male mosquitoes infected with the bacteria Wolbachia in the hopes they will mate with female mosquitoes and make them sterile. It’s all part of a federally approved trial to test methods to combat Zika, a virus carried and transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Nancy Klingener (@keywestnan) from Here & Now contributor WLRN reports.

The Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes are shipped from a lab in Kentucky for release in the Keys. The Keys district plans to release 20,000 mosquitoes twice a week for a 12-week trial. (Nancy Klingener/WLRN) — The Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes are shipped from a lab in Kentucky for release in the Keys. (Nancy Klingener/WLRN)

This segment aired on July 13, 2017.

In Florida Keys, Scientists Sterilize Mosquitoes In Fight Against Zika

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