Florida is releasing 750 million genetically engineered mosquitoes for a weird reason and the population is already anticipating a “Jurassic Park-like” situation.
The goal of releasing the mosquitoes is to counter lethal diseases like malaria, Zika, dengue etc, but the move has sparked controversy as the local people and the environmental groups are opposing it.
Why are they releasing GMO mosquitoes?
The purpose of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes is to check if they will be able to counter diseases like Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. The scientists want to check if releasing these mosquitoes will be cheaper than spraying insecticides.
The species of these new mosquitoes is named OX5034, and they are known to produce female offspring which will die in larval stage before they can hatch eggs. This can potentially reduce the growth of the mosquito population as only the female mosquitoes bite humans for blood, and this blood is used to nourish the eggs. If the female offspring dies then it greatly reduces the risk of infection.
How do these engineered mosquitoes work?
he people here have also used many different insecticides along with the novel approach of using a mosquito-eating fish – but all of these have been rendered ineffective. All of these procedures cost the local authorities around $1 million every year.
Another creative soluton was to create another genetically engineered species named OX513A which is programmed to die before reaching adulthood. This male mosquito will mate with females but their offspring would inherit the same programming, and they would die before becoming adults – this limits the population growth.
This species has already been tested in several countries such as Cayman Islands, Panama, and Brazil.
People are worried about it
The mosquitoes have been developed by a company named Oxitec, and the approval has been granted by the Environmental Protection Agency of Texas.
The agency says that they have spent years in investigating the impact of genetically engineered mosquitoes on human health and the environment.
But people are freaking out about these “superbugs” and “Robo-Frankenstein” and saying that they don’t want to be “guinea pigs” for this freakish experiment. More than 250000 people have signed a petition against it.
One of the citizens said:
“With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the State of Florida — the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, climate change — the administration has used tax dollars and government resources for a Jurassic Park experiment.”
She added:
“Now the Monroe County Mosquito Control District has given the final permission needed. What could possibly go wrong? We don’t know, because EPA unlawfully refused to seriously analyze environmental risks, now without further review of the risks, the experiment can proceed.”
Environmental groups have a much more valid concern
Environmental groups have a much more valid concern, saying that these modified male genes could spread to other species of mosquitoes and then it could harm many endangered species of birds, insects, and mammals who feed on these mosquitoes.
Featured Image Courtesy: UPN