US Embassy invitation: “The Fight Against Zika” - Amerika Haus, May 4
STEPPING UP THE FIGHT AGAINST ZIKA
Aldo Malavasi, Deputy Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency
Introductory remarks by Ambassador Henry S. Ensher, Chargé d’ Affairs of the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna
The U.S. Center for Disease Control recently confirmed that the mosquito-borne Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects, noting that the virus is “scarier than we initially thought.” One way to combat Zika’s spread is to suppress mosquito populations through the sterile insect technique, or SIT.
Aldo Malavasi, who heads the IAEA department in charge of SIT research and application, will discuss SIT technology, one of the safest and most environmentally friendly control methods available, as well as the nuclear-derived early detection tools and training support the IAEA is providing to Latin American and Caribbean countries to help rapidly identify cases of the Zika virus.