MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2021) The US state of Florida is releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in six locations of its tropical islands as part of the nation's first trial to reduce the local population of insects that carry diseases like dengue or the Zika virus, the Miami-based WLRN-FM broadcaster reported.
The plan to place the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Florida's Lower and middle Keys, a string of islands, comes almost a year after the decision to release 750 million genetically engineered insects was approved by Federal regulators. In August 2020, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) greenlighted the pilot project to test whether a genetically modified mosquito could be a viable alternative to spraying insecticides to control deadly mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika, dengue, yellow fever and others.
According to the media outlet, boxes with the mosquito eggs, as well as water and some food are being placed in the designated areas this week. The idea is that since female mosquitoes are the ones that bite and transmit diseases, the genetic modification is designed in such a way that female offspring does not survive.
"We're lucky that we have a robust budget and we do pretty much everything we possibly can that we can to control these mosquitoes but we're still seeing them in populations that are able to transmit diseases," FKMCD head Andrea Leal told WLRN-FM.
During the 12-week first phase of the trial, a total of about 144,000 mosquitoes will be released. The results, according to Leal, will likely be reported at the end of the year.
Many local residents and environmental advocacy groups, however, believe that the forced introduction of such insects into the nature could potentially harm endangered animal species that feed on mosquitoes.
