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Leading News from Sri Lanka ::
The Cabinet today approved a proposal submitted by the Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition, Nimal Siripala de Silva to purchase 30,000 liters BTI bacteria from Labiofam Pharmaceutical Biological Laboratories Enterprise of Cuba.
The bacteria to be purchased at a cost of 53.1 million rupees will be used to initiate the trial planned to be conducted in 3 MOH areas in Kandy district.
Production of BTI in Sri Lanka by a local company under the guidance of Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) is currently being processed and it is not commercially available yet, the Minister said presenting his proposal.
A limited approval has been obtained from the Registrar of Pesticides to import the 30,000 liters of BTIManufactured by Labiofam, pending registration of the product in Sri Lanka.
Two Cuban experts visited Sri Lanka in July 2009 and submitted a report with several recommendations to control dengue which included the application of BTI, a biological larvicide to control dengue mosquito vector in selected areas.
BTI is a spore forming bacteria that produces a protein crystal which is toxic to the mosquitoes and black flies when ingested. BTI is applied directly to the water where the mosquito larvae are developing so it is readily ingested by them.
A total of 4,081 dengue cases has been reported so far this year. Colombo, Gampaha, and Jaffna districts are the worst affected each reporting over 500 cases.
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Feb 05, Colombo: Sri Lanka government is to purchase 30,000 liters of Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis (BTI) bacteria from a Cuban company to control the fast spreading dengue epidemic in the country.