Cyprus battles disease-carrying mosquitoes by breeding them with irradiated, sterilized ones

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is battling an influx of disease-carrying mosquitoes by bringing in hundreds of thousands of the insects after being sterilized through radiation. The battle is primarily focused on eradicating the Aedes aegypti variety of mosquito that has been found in large numbers in the island nation’s coastal town of Larnaca. Cyprus’ Environmental Health Services head Herodotos Herodotou told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Aedes aegypti has been specifically targeted to prevent its potential migration to continental Europe. The effort is also targeting the more common Aedes albopictus mosquito. Both varieties can transmit to humans dangerous diseases such as dengue, Zika and yellow fever.