Measuring Public Attitudes to Releases of Transgenic Mosquitoes for Disease Control, with Special Reference to Dengue and Malaria
Measuring Public Attitudes to Releases of Transgenic Mosquitoes for Disease Control, with Special Reference to Dengue and Malaria
Tags: Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Risk assessment, Stakeholder engagementL. A. De Las Llagas and M. S. T. Gunigundo, Genetically Modified and other Innovative Vector Control Technologies, 2021.
Since the advent of DDT in public health and agriculture, science leaped forward with revolutionary technology such as gene drive or editing, thus making it possible to develop alternative approaches to address vector-borne diseases. However, their utilization and sustenance in public life are dependent on public attitude, i.e., societal awareness and social acceptance. In the face of strong skepticism against genetically modified organisms in both developed and developing countries, public acceptance is therefore a requirement (Boete and Beisel 2013, and Bohannon 2002, as cited in De Souza et al. Understanding the requirements and factors necessary for the acceptance of genetically modified mosquitoes as a potential malaria control tool in Ghana: a questionnaire survey, AsPac J Biol Biotechnol 21(3):76–88, 2013).