Millions Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Be Set Loose In US
Millions Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Be Set Loose In US
Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Regulation, Sterile insect technique (SIT)H. Wilmerding, Daily Caller, 2022.
Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the United States as part of an initiative to replace the insects carrying deadly diseases, the company behind the plan announced Tuesday. The program, led by biotechnology company Oxitec, will release roughly 2 million genetically altered mosquitoes in California and Florida to fend off other mosquitoes carrying deadly diseases like Zika, yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya, the company said in a press release. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Oxitec’s plan on March 8. “Given the growing health threat this mosquito poses across the U.S., we’re working to make this technology available and accessible,” Oxitec chief executive officer Grey Frandsen said in the press release.