The US Environmental Protection Agency has given the go-ahead for the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in parts of Florida and California. The modified male insects are designed to produce infertile offspring, which will reduce local populations and rates of mosquito-borne illness.
Aedes aegypti is a notorious carrier of many diseases, including the mosquito species OX5034 which is derived from it. When these mosquitoes mate with the native females in the area, they are said to produce female offspring that die off before reaching adulthood, dooming the population as a whole. The modified insects are thought to pose no danger to people because they only bite female mosquitoes.
In collaboration with the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, a pilot program was launched last year to release millions of these mosquitoes in select areas of Florida. The EPA approved the Florida program to continue, as well as a new program in California, according to the company. More than 2 billion mosquitoes can be released across the two states because of the EPA's decision.
Our team is proud to have received another milestone approval from the EPA. Grey Frandsen, CEO of the company, said in a statement that the expansion of their U.S. efforts reflected the strong partnerships they have developed with a large and diverse range of stakeholders.
The sterile insect technique has previously been used to eradicate or reduce populations of other harmful pests, such as screw flies. There has been controversy with the program. Some residents in Florida have protested the release of mosquitoes, while others have maintained that they could pose unknown environmental or health risks. The EPA and local agencies have not done enough to ensure the complete transparency of the project.
A September paper claimed that a small percentage of the offspring produced by the mosquitoes in Brazil had survived and were spreading their genes to the rest of the population. The journal's editors laid out many of the alleged flaws in the paper by March 2020 and it was criticized by other scientists for a lack of compelling evidence.
The release of data from the program shows that it reduces the local mosquito population, and Brazil approved the use of these mosquitoes in 2020. The release of modified mosquitoes into communities is thought to pose no risk to people, animals, or the environment according to the EPA. In other places, sterile mosquito programs usingbacteria, not genes, have shown success in reducing mosquito populations and rates of diseases.
The company will need additional permission from local regulators if it wants to move forward with its programs. It didn't happen despite the fact that the EPA gave the go-ahead for a program in Texas to start in 2021.
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