Plan to Release GMO Mosquitoes ‘A Science Experiment Run Amok’
Effort by biotechnology firm meant to stop tropical diseases in Florida could have risky impacts, critics say.
byAndrea Germanos
CommonDreams.org
Thursday, February 12, 2015
A biotechnology company’s plan to release millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes the Florida Keys to combat tropical diseases has been criticized as “a science experiment run amok” by a watchdog organization.
The plan, which local officials hope to get underway this spring, is meant to control the population of Aedes aegypti, which spreads dengue fever and chikungunya.
The state of Florida reported (pdf) six cases of locally acquired dengue and 11 of chikungunya in 2014.
The release of the genetically modified (GMO) Aedes aegypti would be run by British company Oxitec, which states that it would be an “environmentally friendly” and safe approach.
Keysnews.com sums up how the plan would work: “Oxitec, founded in 2002, found a way to genetically modify male mosquitoes to make them ‘sterile,’ so when they are released and mate with female mosquitoes in the wild, the offspring die in the larval stage.”
The company has admitted that some female GMO mosquitoes would be released as well.
The plan is in order, local officials say, because spraying programs have caused the mosquitoes to develop resistance to the pesticides, rendering them useless.
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