THE International Atomic Energy Agency has plans to rid Africa of the tsetse fly by releasing millions of male flies sterilised with gamma radiation (New Scientist, 23 February, p 17). It certainly looks like an attractive idea, as the tsetse fly causes even more problems in Africa than AIDS. But I asked Hilary Benn, the junior international development minister, what he thought.
Benn replied that the release of sterile insects is part of the important Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC). However, the Department for International Development seriously doubts if existing technologies can eradicate tsetse flies from…
