86 - Startup costs associated with an X-ray SIT program at Lee County Mosquito Control District

Abstract: Sterile insect technique (SIT) is an older technology that has only within the last several decades gained traction as a control tool useful to integrated vector management. Aedes albopictus and Ae. aegypti have recently become targets of SIT control programs worldwide. A small scale X-ray sterilization program was begun in 2017 at the Lee County (Florida) Mosquito Control District (LCMCD), after consultation and advisement from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the University of Florida. Our program strives for releases of 1,000,000 sterile male Ae. aegypti per week. Nine SIT employees are needed to obtain this level of production. This presentation will discuss the startup costs associated with building modifications, capital outlay, equipment & operational expenses, and labor (including employee benefits). From mid-2017 to mid-2020, LCMCD spent approximately $1.4M before the first releases of Ae. aegypti began in June, 2020. LCMCD is a sizeable organization compared to most mosquito control districts within the US, however, our experience in standing up an SIT program demonstrates that with proper budgeting, districts willing to begin with a smaller SIT staff producing fewer sterile mosquitoes could afford to develop an X-ray SIT program with considerably less money.