Developing Aedes Albopictus as a Vector With Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) to Control Dengue in Semarang City

Abstract

Dengue is still being a health problem in Semarang City. Aedes albopictus is a secondary vector but they could be a main vector in an urban area. Sterile Insect technique (SIT) is an alternative tool to control dengue that is more safety than using pesticide. The objective of this study was to develop Aedes albopictus with SIT method to control dengue in Semarang City. Male pupae were irradiated at the doses of 0 (control), 60, 70, and 80 Gy, using 3 replications. The parameters that were measured to determine the quality of males that have been sterilized are number of eggs, sterility level and mating competitiveness. The level of sterility was determined by the percentage of unhatched eggs. Mating competitiveness was determined by Fried index with a ratio of 30 : 10 : 10 (radiated males : fertile males : virgin females). There was no significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) at sterility level to the irradiated males. The results indicated that decreasing irradiated doses conducted increasing in mating competitiveness. However, further trial in field conditions should be undertaken to estimate the release ratio of irradiated males to produce an effect on wild populations.

Keywords

• sterile insect technique
• sterility
• mating competitiveness
• fried index
• aedes albopictus