Deep dive: Florida’s GM mosquito experiment aims to rewrite rules of vector-borne diseases
Deep dive: Florida’s GM mosquito experiment aims to rewrite rules of vector-borne diseases
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. Kannan, India Today, 2020.
A pathbreaking bioengineering experiment on mosquito populations that could have massive implications for tropical malaria-affected countries like India has got underway in Florida, US. The new GM technology claims to control the spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya and Zika by altering the life-cycle of the virus-carrying mosquitoes.
The new GM technology claims to control the spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya and Zika by altering the life-cycle of the virus-carrying mosquitoes.
The Florida Plan
Under the new project, over 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes will be released into the archipelago of Florida Keys in 2021 and 2022.
The pilot project in Florida Keys will be put to test to ascertain if genetically modified mosquitoes are a viable alternative to insecticides. The key focus is on controlling the population of the Aedes aegypti, a species of mosquito that spreads deadly diseases.
