Florida mosquitoes: 750 million genetically modified insects will be released

Local authorities in Florida have approved the release of 750 million mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to reduce local populations.

The aim is to reduce the number of mosquitoes carrying diseases such as dengue or the Zika virus.

The green light for a pilot project after years of debate quickly sparked an outcry from environmental groups, who warned of unintended consequences.

One group condemned the plan as a “public Jurassic Park experiment.”

Campaigners warn of possible damage to ecosystems and the potential creation of insecticide-resistant hybrid mosquitoes.

But the company involved says there will be no negative risk to humans or the environment, and points to a series of government-backed studies.

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The plan to release mosquitoes in 2021 in the Florida Keys, a chain of islands, comes months after the mosquitoes were approved by federal regulators.

In May, the US Environment Agency cleared the UK-based US company Oxitec to produce the genetically engineered Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes known as OX5034.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are known to spread deadly diseases to humans such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever.

Only females bite humans because they need blood to produce eggs. So the plan is to release the modified male mosquitoes which will hopefully then breed with wild female mosquitoes.

However, males carry a protein that will kill any female offspring before they reach middle age for the bite. The males, who feed only on nectar, will survive and pass on the genes.

Over time, the goal is to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the area and thereby reduce the spread of disease to humans.

Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) officials on Tuesday gave final approval to release 750 million modified mosquitoes over a two-year period.

The plan has many critics, including nearly 240,000 people who signed a petition on Change.org denouncing Oxitec’s plan to use US states “as a testing ground for these mutant bugs.”

According to Oxitec’s website, the company has found positive results in field trials in Brazil. It also plans to deploy them to Texas from 2021 and has obtained federal approval, but not state or local approval, according to reports.

In a statement denouncing the project, environmental group Friends of the Earth said, “The release of genetically modified mosquitoes will put Floridians, the environment and endangered species needlessly at risk in the midst of a pandemic.”

But an Oxitec scientist told the AP news agency: “We have released over a billion of our mosquitoes over the years. There is no potential risk to the environment or humans.”

The Aedes aegypti is invasive in South Florida and is commonly found in urban areas where it lives in stagnant puddles. In many areas, including the Florida Keys, they have developed resistance to pesticides.

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