Evaluating the Effect of Irradiation on the Densities of Two RNA Viruses in IGlossina morsitans morsitans/I

Tsetse flies transmit Trypanosoma parasites, which cause severe diseases in humans and animals. To reduce the number of tsetse flies, male flies are sterilized through irradiation and released into the field to compete with wild male flies for mating with wild females. Recently, two insect-specific viruses were discovered in mass-reared Glossina morsitans morsitans tsetse flies. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether these viruses are affected by the irradiation treatment. The results showed that irradiation did not change the number of viral genome copies in the flies.