Can mosquitoes be used for biological warfare?
Can mosquitoes be used for biological warfare?
Tags: Genetically modified mosquitoes, MosquitoesHealth Desk, Health Desk, 2022.
Every year, mosquitoes kill more people than any other creature in the world. Because of 1) mosquitoes’ ability to spread deadly, communicable diseases and cover large distances quickly, and 2) the fact that different types of bugs have been weaponized for hundreds of years, it is not surprising that mosquitoes have been used as weapons or suspected of being used as weapons. One of the most well known examples of mosquitoes being used as biological weapons occurred in the 20th century during World War II. Nazi researchers studied insects, including mosquitoes, to determine their ability to spread disease. The Nazi forces then went to Italian marshes to purposely collect mosquitoes with malaria and them into the population. While this is the most well-known case of using mosquitoes as biological warfare, the use or considered use of mosquitoes as weapons is not unique to Germany. For instance, Fort Detrick in Maryland was created during World War II to focus on defending the United States against biological weapons and researching biological weapons. One plan for the site in the late 1950s involved releasing mosquitoes infected with yellow fever virus against an enemy though this never actually happened.
