A biotechnology firm released the first set of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys with a goal of suppressing disease-carrying populations in the region.
The firm, Oxitec, genetically engineered male mosquitoes to carry a lethal gene and released the pests into nature in late April.
When the modified male mates with wild female mosquitoes, the lethal gene is passed to their offspring. The release marked the first time the genetically modified pests have been exposed to the wild in the United States.
Oxitec previously released its modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and Malaysia, and the company reported that local A. aegypti populations fell by at least 90% in those areas, Quartz reported in 2016.
BILL GATES: FROM COMPUTER PROGRAMMER TO KNOW-IT-ALL
“The A. aegypti makes up just 4% of the mosquito population in the Keys, but is responsible for virtually all of the disease transmission,” according to a statement from Oxitec on April 29.
There are also plans to release the mosquitoes in Harris County, Texas, where Houston is located, Oxitec added.
An earlier plan to release Oxitec mosquitoes in the Keys was overturned in 2018 when local residents fought the concept, WLRN reported.
Some experts asked whether the modified mosquitoes might have unintended effects on the environment, ecosystem, and food chain that consumes them.
“An ecosystem is so complicated and involves so many species, it would be almost impossible to test them all in advance in a lab,” said Max Moreno, an expert in mosquito-borne diseases at Indiana University, told the Associated Press in August 2020.
The Florida Keys mosquito control board voted 4-1 in 2020 in favor of implementing Oxitec’s plan.
“With full approval from the US EPA and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as well as support from the US Centers for Disease Control and an independent advisory board, we are now eager to see the project progress over the coming months,” said Andrea Leal, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Washington Examiner reached out to Oxitec but did not immediately receive a response.
