The private company which has been approached by the Health Ministry to locally produce ‘Bti,’ the dengue vector control spray, is expected to start production by July 15.
A senior Health Ministry official said they have already submitted their specifications to Bio Power Lanka Private Ltd., a company promoting sustainable agriculture in the country.
The company had been involved in the local production of the mosquito larvae killing bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, earlier.
“It has been two years since they stopped local production. Therefore, the company has asked for time to resume production,” the official said.
The Health Ministry was importing the Cuban patented Bti from China at a high cost.
President Maithripala Sirisena has directed the Health Ministry to start local production of Bti. “At present, we have the Chinese made Bti in stocks. But there will not be calling tenders for fresh imports since we are expecting the local Bti to be ready by the time the stocks deplete,” the official said.
Other than Dengue, the spray, that is effective for two weeks, can be used to destroy breeding places of mosquitoes carrying Malaria, Filariasis, and Chikungunya.