On the use of the sterile insect technique or the incompatible insect technique to reduce or eliminate mosquito populations

TL;DR

This paper develops a minimalistic mathematical model for mosquito population control using SIT/IIT, highlighting conditions for elimination, treatment timing, and implications for designing effective release protocols.

Contribution

It introduces a bistable model for SIT/IIT, providing new insights into conditions for mosquito population elimination and optimal treatment strategies.

Findings

Model predicts conditions for successful population elimination.

Estimates minimal treatment times for different release strategies.

Numerical case study supports analytical results.

Abstract

Vector control is critical to limit the circulation of vector-borne diseases like chikungunya, dengue or zika which have become important issues around the world. Among them the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) and the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) recently aroused a renewed interest. In this paper we derive and study a minimalistic mathematical model designed for Aedes mosquito population elimination by SIT/IIT. Contrary to most of the previous models, it is bistable in general, allowing simultaneously for elimination of the population and for its survival. We consider dierent types of releases (constant, periodic or impulsive) and show necessary conditions to reach elimination in each case. We also estimate both sucient and minimal treatment times. Biological parameters are estimated from a case study of an Aedes polynesiensis population, for which extensive numerical investigations illustrate the analytical results. The applications of this work are twofold: to help identifying some key parameters that may need further eld investigations, and to help designing release protocols.