FLORIDA – Following lengthy federal and state proceedings, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District this week approved a plan to release more than 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Keys region to combat an invasive, disease-carrying species of the insect.
The genetically modified mosquitoes, named OX5034 by Oxitec, the biotech company that designed them, should be released by 2021. Batches will be released. They are all male, and intended to mate with the females of the species Aedes Aegypti, which came from Africa and is known to carry such diseases as zika, dengue and yellow fever, and do not enable them to produce viable offspring.
What you need to know
- The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes from next year
- The genetically modified mosquitoes will fit with a disease-carrying invasive species and prevent reproduction
- Environmental groups say there is no telling what could happen if the species is introduced into the environment
Because only the female of the species bites and sucks the blood of other animals, the architects of the plan believe the project poses no danger to humans, nor the environment. Opponents, however, say there is really no telling what could have happened if a genetically modified species had been released into the wild.
In a statement posted on the International Center for Technological Assessment and the website for the Center for Food Safety, policy director Jaydee Hanson called the project “a Jurassic Park experiment.” The statement was quoted as saying by Executive Coalition Executive Director Barry Wray, “FKMCD wants to continue an experiment that could be detrimental to public and environmental health and our local economy.”
While the initiative is certainly not without its inherent unknown, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District has a lot of trouble eradicating Aedes aegypti, which makes up only one percent of the area’s mouse population, remains a serious health threat. Previous attempts to control the mouse population, such as the use of chemical sprays, have been successful – and all have provoked opposition from factions, ranging from health experts to environmental advocates.
Should Florida residents be concerned about a mutant mosquito infestation coming down on their communities? Probably not – according to the American Mosquito Control Association, the average (or non-genetically engineered) mosquito has a flight range of one to three miles.
And in any case, Oxitec could probably engineer some genetically modified bats to eat the engineered mosquitoes once this is all over.
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