Genetically Modified mosquitoes to be released to help curb diseases
Mosquitoes
Science and technology are slowly conquering the world and are helping eliminate one problem at a time. In a historic discovery, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District and British firm biotech Oxitec have announced release of genetically modified, non-biting male mosquito larvae.
The new discovery has been made in a bid to curb the spread of insect-borne diseases such as Zika,yellow fever, and dengue, especially in developing countries.
As per the researchers,12,000 Aedes aegypti mosquito species are expected to emerge every week, starting from this week, for the next 12 weeks. These will emerge from six different locations — two on Cudjoe Key, one on Ramrod Key, and three on Vaca Key.
The aim is to be able to release hundreds of millions of these mosquitoes in the future to put a complete end to mosquito-borne diseases.
These mosquitoes will mate with the local biting female mosquitoes. The female offspring will struggle to survive, which will then lead to a decline in the population of Aedes aegypti in the near future.
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Genetically Modified (GM) mosquitoes contain two types of genes. "Afluorescent marker genethat glows under a special red light. This allows researchers to identify GM mosquitoes from wild mosquitoes," CDC explained in a report."Aself-limiting genethat prevents female mosquito offspring from surviving to adulthood."
CDC has also clarified that the GM mosquitoes do not pose any threat or risk to the people, animals, or the environment.
It also stressed that these mosquitoes are not intended to stop an outbreak. "However, releasing GM mosquitoes over several months can reduce the number of a specific mosquito species, such asAe. aegypti. We do know that the best way to control mosquitoes is to start before an outbreak happens," CDC said.