Genetically modified mosquitoes could soon be released in one Australian state: everything you need to know
Genetically modified mosquitoes could soon be released in one Australian state: everything you need to know
Tags: Genetically modified mosquitoes, OceaniaMaddison Leach, 9 News, 2025.
Mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever cause hundreds of thousands of deaths every year and a new venture wants to change that by introducing genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs) right here in Australia. That venture is Oxitec Australia, a collaboration between the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and UK-based Oxitec Ltd, which has previously received backing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its goal is to introduce GMMs in parts of Queensland to reduce the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases and combat the threat of invasive and exotic species like Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.
These invasive insects have already already spread through northern and central Queensland and can transmit dengue, which can be life-threatening in severe cases. However, Oxitec Australia can’t start releasing GMMs to help combat these diseases in Australia until it has received approval from the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator. “It’s a bit like the TGA [Therapeutic Goods Administration] for our medicines, but it’s looking at genetically modified products, and it needs to go through the same type of rigorous process,” Professor Brett Sutton, Director of Health and Biosecurity at CSIRO, told ABC’s RN Radio.
