Mating with exotic female mosquitoes… How to kill mosquito larvae
Oxytech, UK, “successful in preliminary test conducted in Florida last year”
US releases ‘genetically engineered mosquitoes’ that catch dengue fever mosquitoes (not directly related to the article) Getty Images Bank
It is reported that the United States is trying to release genetically engineered mosquitoes to catch exotic mosquitoes that carry the deadly dengue virus.
This method releases 2 million male mosquitoes with a ‘kill switch’ embedded in their DNA, and the mosquito larvae produced by mating with an exotic female mosquito kill themselves before becoming an adult.
According to the British daily The Times on the 16th (local time), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a preliminary experiment to release these mosquitoes in Tulare County, northern California, and OxyTech is currently awaiting approval from the state of California.
Genetically engineered dengue mosquitoes, developed by British biotech company OxyTech, are entirely male mosquitoes that do not bite or spread infectious diseases, and only mate with exotic female mosquitoes of their own species.
Oxytech announced that it had succeeded in a preliminary experiment conducted in Florida last year.
The company’s chief executive, Gray Prandson, said: “We are now able to address the growing health threat in the United States from mosquitoes.”
OxyTech has also conducted experiments in Brazil, and the state of São Paulo has purchased genetically engineered mosquitoes developed by OxyTech.
The dengue mosquito was first spotted in Los Angeles about 10 years ago and has now spread to 20 counties in California.
Proponents of genetically engineered mosquito testing argue that invasive mosquitoes from West Africa are at increased risk of transmitting dengue and other similar-causing Zika viruses and yellow fever.
Unlike native mosquitoes, which are usually active in the evening, exotic mosquitoes with black and white stripes are active during the day and are known to particularly like human blood.
However, the Times reported that not everyone agrees on the use of genetically engineered mosquitoes.
“We’re like lab rats,” said Angel Garcia of Californians for Pesticide Relief, in an interview with local media.
“If we really want to address a public health threat, we should be invited to the consultative table,” she said.
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