A plan to release more than 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys has received final approval.
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According to CNN, Tuesday night, local authorities approved a plan to release the genetically modified mosquitoes in the string islands of the Sunshine State, hoping to prevent a string of diseases that the insects can carry.
Approved by the Environmental Protection Agency in May, the project is “designed to test whether a genetically modified mosquito is a viable alternative to spraying insecticides to control the Aedes aegypti,” a type of mosquito that shows resistance to pesticides and is said to dengue spread, Zika, yellow fever, and other diseases.
The Monroe County Mosquito Control District signed off on the proposal that already won state and federal approval. It will be the first time that genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the US and it is set to take place in 2021 and 2022.
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Getty Aedes aegypti
The genetically modified male mosquito, named OX5034, was modified with a special gene so that its female offspring die in the larval stage, long before they can continue to bite and spread disease. Only the female mosquito bites for blood, while the males only feed on nectar, and are therefore not carriers for one disease.
It took more than a decade to approve the project, which happened after local outbreaks of dengue fever in 2009 and 2010 affected the Florida area. The outbreaks left the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District desperate for new options after spraying on air, truck and back, as the use of fish with mosquito food was not as effective as hoped.
© LUIS ROBAYO / AFP / Getty
It will be the first time that genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the US and it is set to take place in 2021 and 2022
Even though the specific breed of mosquito accounts for only 1% of the insect’s population, Florida Keys Budget Mosquito Control typically budgets more than $ 1 million a year – a full tenth of its total funding – to combat it, reports the outlet.
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Thus, the district then reached out to the British company Oxitec in 2012, which had previously developed a male mosquito that was programmed to die for adults unless it was grown in water containing the antibiotic tetracycline.
The genetically engineered mosquitoes had already been released by Oxitec for trials in Brazil and research by the company found that the program resulted in significant population declines for the Aedes Egyptians and was a cost-effective alternative to potentially harmful pesticides.
The experiment reduced the Aedes aegypti by 95%, due to the fact that as the new males grow up, they mate with more females, which would decrease the number of insects carrying disease.
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However, the project is against the objections of many local residents and a variety of environmental advocacy groups, who have criticized the potential impact the mosquitoes could have on humans and animals.
“The release of genetically engineered mosquitoes will inevitably bring Floridians, the environment, and endangered species to mind in the midst of a pandemic,” Dana Perls, food and technology manager at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. “This approval is about maximizing Oxitec’s profits, not about the urgent need to tackle mosquito-borne diseases.”
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Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center for Technological Assessment and Center for Food Safety, reflected Perls’ statement and shared, “With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the state of Florida – the COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice, Climate change – the administration has used tax dollars and government funds for a Jurassic Park experiment. “
“Now the Monroe County Mosquito Control District has given the final approval. What could possibly go wrong? We do not know, because the EPA has unjustifiably refused to seriously analyze environmental risks, now without further evaluation of the risks it can experiment, “she added.
The modified mosquitoes were also approved for release in Harris County, Texas, beginning in 2021, according to Oxitec.
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