The main objective is to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Florida officials have given the go-ahead to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the environment. The goal of the experiment is to reduce the population of these harmful insects, which carry dengue fever, chikungunya virus, yellow fever, Zika virus and other diseases. Environmentalists talk of unpredictable consequences, possible damage to ecosystems, and the emergence of mutant mosquitoes immune to insecticides. One group has dubbed the project “Jurassic Park.”
The company conducting the activity denies harm to humans and nature, and provides a list of government-funded studies as evidence. The mosquito release pilot project will begin in 2021 in the Florida Keys archipelago and last for two years.
A biologist in Brazil releases Oxitec mosquitoes to combat the Zika virus outbreak. In May of this year, the German Federal Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt) granted the British company Oxitec permission to produce a batch of genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes under the code name OX5034. Only female mosquitoes bite humans because they need blood to lay their eggs. The plan is to create genetically modified males that will mate with female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. There is a special protein in the bodies of these males that prevents any females born from them from surviving to adulthood. The males survive and pass on the deadly gene for females to the next generations of mosquitoes. As a result, the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes should decrease, along with the risk of infectious diseases they spread.
This week, mosquito control officials in the Florida Keys archipelago approved a plan. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. Episodes End of story: Podcast Advertising Nearly 240,000 people have signed an online petition against the “Insect Mutant Testing Facility. “The release of genetically modified mosquitoes, not dictated by necessity, poses a risk to Florida residents, the environment and endangered species during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a statement by the environmental group Friends of the Earth. According to Oxitec’s website, the company has previously conducted tests in Brazil with positive results.
“In recent years, we have released about a billion of our mosquitoes. There are no risks to nature or humans,” one of Oxitec’s scientists told the Associated Press. The company plans a similar operation in Texas in 2021. Federal approval has been granted, but state officials are still reviewing the project. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are actively spreading throughout South Florida. They are often found in urban areas where they inhabit stagnant bodies of water. In some areas, including islands, they have developed resistance to pesticides.