The sterile atomic fly, one kind of sterile insect technique, is an innovative solution to the problem of sleeping sickness, and is being developed by the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency, building on their experience of similar programs over past decades against the fruit fly in Australia and Africa. El Salvador successfully demonstrated the sterile insect technique eliminating the malaria causing mosquito, from a region for a period of time. ... Sleeping sickness or African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease in humans. ... United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The IAEA flag The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957, seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for military purposes. ... Genera 500 genera & about 5,000 species Tephritidae is a family of insects that includes fruit flies. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ...

Sleeping sickness or African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease in humans. Caused by protozoa of genus Trypanosoma and transmitted by the Tsetse fly, the disease is endemic in certain regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, covering about 36 countries and 60 million people. It is estimated that 300,000 - 500,000 people are infected, and about 40,000 die every year. Three major epidemics have occurred in the past hundred years, in 1896 - 1906, 1920, and 1970. A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of it. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ... Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu  (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens Homo (genus). ... Protozoa (in Greek protos = first and zoon = animal) are single-celled eukaryotes (organisms with nuclei) that show some characteristics usually associated with animals, most notably mobility and heterotrophy. ... Trypanosoma is a notable genus of trypanosomes, a group of parasitic protozoa. ... Binomial name Glossina morsitans The tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans, is a fly (order Diptera) that eats blood from animals, including humans. ... A satellite composite image of Africa showing the ecological break between North and Sub-Saharan regions Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa south of the Sahara, is the term used to describe those countries of Africa that are not considered part of North Africa or some areas of West Africa. ... In epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people) is a disease that appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is expected, based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during a... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Studies of the tsetse fly show that females generally only mate once in their lifetimes and very rarely mate a second time. Once a female fly has mated, she can then produce continual offspring throughout her short life.

Using this information, the International Atomic Energy Agency has developed a process of irradiating male Tsetse flies that have been specially bred. This process of irradiation sterilizes the male. These sterilized male flies are then released into areas where Sleeping sickness is prevalent, and then mate with the females. Because the male is sterile, and the females mate only once, the population of Tsetse flies in the affected area will drop. Studies have shown that this process has been very effective in preventing Sleeping sickness in people who live in the area. The IAEA flag The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957, seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for military purposes. ... Irradiation is the process by which an item is exposed to radiation. ...

Since sleeping sickness is fatal without treatment and infected people can be without symptoms for months, the release of sterile atomic flies into affected areas leads to greater levels of health and economic activity.

External links

• BBC Online article
• Plan to Eradicate the Tsetse Fly
• An atomic-powered plan to end sleeping sickness
• IAEA fruit fly program