https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/nearly-150-000-gene-hacked-mosquitoes-to-be-unleashed-in-florida/ar-BB1g8RKd?ocid=msedgntp
Newsweek
Nearly 150,000 Gene-Hacked Mosquitoes to Be Unleashed in Florida
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Nearly 150,000 mosquitoes that have been genetically modified by Oxitec, a biotechnology company based in the U.K., will be released across parts of Monroe County's Florida Keys region starting this week.
The release is part of an experiment to help combat a disease-transmitting local mosquito population (the Aedes aegypti mosquito species) that is responsible for "virtually all mosquito-borne diseases transmitted to humans" such as dengue, Zika and yellow fever, the company says.
Speaking to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Oxitec said: "We are releasing 12,000 [mosquitoes] per week for 12 weeks," which equates to a total of 144,000 mosquitoes, the spokesperson added.
The experiment—a collaboration between the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) and Oxitec—received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). It is also supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as an independent advisory board, Oxitec says.
"Oxitec's non-biting male mosquitoes will emerge from the boxes to mate with the local biting female mosquitoes. The female offspring of these encounters cannot survive, and the population of Aedes aegypti is subsequently controlled," the company said in a statement last Friday.
Oxitec said "release boxes, non-release boxes and netted quality control boxes" of the commpany's OX5034 male mosquitoes will be placed in six locations (two on Cudjoe Key, one on Ramrod Key and three on Vaca Key) during the last week of April and first week of May.
"Untreated comparison sites will be monitored with mosquito traps on Key Colony Beach, Little Torch Key, and Summerland Key," the company stated on April 23.
The controversial project has faced criticism from local residents, whose consent was not sought for the experiment, as well as environmental activists who also oppose the "irresponsible plan."
What is Oxitec?
Oxitec is a British biotechnology company that develops genetically modified insects "to safely and sustainably control insects that transmit disease and destroy crops," according to its website.
"Our insects contain a self-limiting gene, and when this gene is passed on to their offspring, offspring do not survive to adulthood, resulting in a reduction in the pest insect population," it says.