750 million genetically modified mosquitoes soon released in the wild!
750 million genetically modified mosquitoes soon released in the wild!
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)explica, explica, 2020.
Rather frightening mosquitoes will be released on an archipelago in Florida. The goal? Reduce the population of their more dangerous congeners who can transmit certain diseases.
The mosquitoes are rarely our friends. They are rather the kind of insects that we try to avoid, especially during the summer period. In 2018, a mayor of a town in Maine-et-Loire even issued an anti-mosquito order! They can even ruin a day’s work, as Caroline Receveur has bitterly experienced. Yet the US state of Florida is preparing to release 750 million into the wild. Why ? We explain to you!
It is a very special experience that will begin in the Keys, an archipelago in the south of Florida. Over the next two years, authorities will release 750 million mosquitoes that have been genetically modified. Why do this?
The objective is of course not to scare away any tourists but rather to reduce the mosquito population. Aedes Aegypti. Why tackle these? Well, because they are particularly carriers of several serious diseases: Zika, dengue, chikungunya or even yellow fever.
