NAQUERA, Spain - A Spanish laboratory is breeding and sterilising thousands of tiger mosquitoes to fight dengue fever and other diseases as climate change encourages the invasive species to spread across Europe.

Using an electron accelerator, the regional government-funded Biological Pest Control Centre in Valencia sterilises and releases about 45,000 male mosquitoes every week so they can pair with females - whose bite transmits diseases among humans - and eventually reduce the overall mosquito population.

"It's a species that is becoming more common with climate change ... There is a favourable environment for its development for longer periods of time throughout the year and its populations are increasing all the time," said Vicente Dalmau of Valencia region's health, agriculture and fisheries department.

The specimens for reproduction come from the region, and scientists then use a machine to separate female pupae from the males, before using radiation to sterilise the males.

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