750 million genetically modified mosquitoes approved for release in the Florida Keys | Health

A plan to release more than 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to Florida Key in 2021 and 2022 received final approval from local authorities against many local opposition and coalitions of environmental advocacy groups. It was The proposal had already received state and federal approval.

“Every emergency crisis our country and the state of Florida are facing, Covid-19’s pandemics, racial fraud, and climate change—the government used tax and government resources to test Jurassic Park.” And Jaydee Hanson, International Technology Assessment Center and Food Safety Center In a statement released Wednesday.

“Now, the mosquito control district in Monroe County is giving the necessary final permit. What’s wrong? The EPA illegally refused to take a serious analysis of environmental risks, without further consideration of the risks. You can proceed with the experiment, “she added.

The pilot project, approved by the Environmental Protection Agency in May, is designed to test whether genetically engineered mosquitoes are a viable alternative to insecticide sprays controlling Aedes aegypti. It is a type of mosquito that carries several deadly diseases, including Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya, and Yellow Fever.

A mosquito named OX5034 has been modified to produce female offspring that die at the larval stage long before they hatch, bite the disease, and grow large enough to spread. Only female mosquitoes bite the blood, so the eggs need to mature. Men eat only nectar and are not carriers of the disease.

Mosquitoes also received federal approval to be released in Harris County, Texas in 2021. According to Oxitec, A US-owned, UK-based company that developed genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Environmental Protection Agency Accepted Oxitec’s request After years of investigating the effects of genetically modified mosquitoes on human and environmental health.

“This is a breakthrough for hundreds of passionate people in multiple countries over the last 10 years who want to protect their communities from dengue, zika, yellow fever and other vector-borne infections. It’s an exciting development because it shows good results,” said Gray Francen, CEO of Oxitec. In the statement At the time.

However, state and local approvals in Texas have not been granted, said Sam Bisset, a communications expert at the Harris County Public Health Service.

“Local health officials have confirmed that the project is not underway or underway at this time,” Bisset told CNN. “Our focus is on the Covid-19 pandemic effort.”

In June, Florida issued a lab license after seven state agencies unanimously approved the project. However, it takes more than 10 years to get that approval.

The local outbreak of dengue fever spread by Aedes aegypti in 2009 and 2010 made the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District desperate for new options. From aerial spraying, truck spraying, backpack spraying to the use of mosquito-eating fish, despite avalanche efforts, local management efforts to contain Aedes aegypti with insecticides and pesticides were largely ineffective.

It also costs money. Although Aedes aegypti accounts for only 1% of the mosquito population, Florida Keys Mosquito Control typically budgets more than $1 million per year, a tenth of the total.

In 2012, the district turned to Oxitec for help. The company has developed a male mosquito named OX513A. It is programmed to die before adulthood unless it is raised in water containing the antibiotic tetracycline.

A batch of sterile OX513A is allowed to live and mate with women. However, their male and female offspring will inherit the “kill” programming and die, limiting population growth.

The OX513A has been field tested in the Cayman Islands, Panama and Brazil, and Oxitec reports significant success rates with each release. For example, Trial in urban areas of Brazil Reduced Aedes aegypti by 95%.

A publicity campaign reminds Floridian that the GMO mosquito does not bite because his man did not completely solve the problem. Angry residents refuse to be treated as “guinea pigs” of “superbug” or “Robo Frankenstein” mosquitoes, according to media reports.

The EPA has spent years investigating the effects of mosquitoes on human health and the environment, giving it time to accept public input. However, during the evaluation, Oxitec developed a second generation “Friendly Mosquito” technology and withdrew its first application.

The new male mosquito, OX5034, is programmed to kill only female mosquitoes, and the male survives for multiple generations, passing the modified gene to the next male offspring.

EPA’s permit requires Oxitec to notify state authorities 72 hours prior to release of mosquitoes and to continuously inspect for at least 10 weeks to prevent female mosquitoes from becoming adults ..

However, environmental groups are concerned that genetically engineered male genes could spread to wild populations and harm endangered birds, insects, and mosquito-eating mammals.

“The release of genetically modified mosquitoes would unnecessarily endanger the environment and the endangered floridian during a pandemic,” said Dana Perls, Foods and Technology Program Manager at Friends of Earth. Said on Wednesday.