The first signs of summer are quickly overshadowed once mosquitoes return in many parts of the United States. But a new experiment in Florida might spell the end for the blood-thirsty suckers.
Mosquito lovers (if you exist), don’t worry, the species isn’t going to disappear entirely. Instead, the male Aedes aegypti has been modified to only create live male offspring, which don’t bite, when mating in the wild with female mosquitoes, which do bite.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District approved Oxitec’s proposal to release 750 million of these mosquitoes into the wild under an experimental use permit, targeting the invasive species that can carry dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya and is already developing a tolerance for many pesticides.
The project, which has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Florida Department of Health, targets the carriers after an outbreak of dengue fever hit the region last summer. Small, focused projects will begin this month in a select number of neighborhoods between mile markers 10 and 93 in the Florida Keys, where residents are being asked to host mosquito release boxes or mosquito traps.
“We’re looking forward to working hand-in-hand with the Keys community to demonstrate the effectiveness of our safe, sustainable technology in light of the growing challenges controlling this disease-spreading mosquito,” said Grey Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec, in a release last August.
But not all residents are on board. In February, about two dozen protesters demonstrated against the genetically-modified insects, reported the Miami Herald, and questioned the company’s success.
Last year, similar mosquitoes were released in Indaiatuba, Brazil, as part of public health efforts against dengue and suppressed up to 95 percent of disease-carrying Aedes aegypti, according to the company. But emails obtained by an activist group reportedly found that much of one government paper reporting a 62 percent suppression rate was written by Oxitec.
Plan to Release GMO Mosquitoes in Florida Keys Leaves Locals Feeling Like ‘Guinea Pigs’:
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/release-gmo-mosquitoes-florida-keys/
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Who in their right mind could ever think something like this is “good”?!
a mosquito can fly . but a fly cant mosquito
Now that you mention this, it reminds me of two students I had in a pre-algebra class I taught in the 80s, both Hispanic. A small 14 year old boy had a 14 year old girl friend, and she called him “mosqua.” Not being well versed in Spanish I asked her what “mosqua” meant and she said, “fly.” And since the boy was small I thought to myself why she didn’t call him “mosquito,” which means “little fly.” (Well, knowing a bit of Spanish that’s my take anyway.) So maybe a fly CAN mosquito! Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahah!