Mosquito district workshop focuses on Keys trials

Now that the Oxitec “Friendly Mosquito” trials have been approved by the federal and state governments, it’s up to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District to decide if, when and where to embrace the technology said to decrease the chances of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever (there are two new cases in the Keys; see sidebar) and zika.

On June 23, the FKMCD held a virtual meeting with key personnel from Oxitec, as well as Monroe County Health Officer Bob Eadie, to bring the Keys up to speed on the company’s second-generation technology it proposes to try in the Keys.

Eadie endorsed the proposed trials in Monroe County.

“You can never have enough tools,” he said, referring to the Oxitec technology. “As we go forward we need to figure out how to control any type of outbreaks of infectious diseases. I go back to COVID. It’s possible we can create a vaccine for that, but decades of trials for a dengue vaccine have not been successful. We need some way to protect the public from mosquito borne diseases and this looks like viable technology.

More related to this:

Release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys put on hold

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Cleared for Florida Keys Release

Florida Keys to release modified mosqutioes to fight illness

750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released across Florida Keys

Florida Keys to release 750M genetically modified mosquitoes