Scientists have recently gotten the approval to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys between the years of 2021 and 2022. This decade-long plan was made to counter the diseases spread by the mosquitoes however, there are concerns about the morality and safety of the situation.

Between 2009 and 2010, the Florida Keys were struck by dengue fever, and a mosquito called the Aedes aegypti was the main culprit for the virus’s spread. Although the species only made up 1% of the mosquito population in the Florida Keys, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District spent $1 million a year trying to get rid of them with little success.

Two years later, Oxitec (a UK based company that specializes in creating genetically modified insects) created the OX513A. This male mosquito contains a self limiting gene that kills it before reaching adulthood if it is born without antibiotic Tetracycline in the water. This gene would be passed down to any offspring that the mosquito made and the larvae will die. The OX513A was tested in the Cayman Islands, Panama, and Brazil, and it showed massive success, one test showed the Aedes aegypti population by 95%.

However, residents in the Florida Keys did not want more mosquitoes, even after being reminded that males do not suck blood, females do. The reason that females need the blood is for their offspring. Florida Keys locals were also worried about being guinea pigs, and the thought of a genetically modified bug concerned them.

As about six years pass, the United States Environmental Protection Agency evaluates the mosquito’s impact on the ecosystem and Oxitec created a new mosquito. The OX5034 is much more efficient than the OX513A because the new gene targets female larvae while male larvae live into adulthood, eventually passing the gene to more offspring. However, now environmental groups are worried about this new gene being introduced into the wild and how they may affect animals that feed on mosquitoes.

Despite the distress from many, Oxitec was finally given the approval to release the OX5034 into the Florida Keys and also in Harris County, Texas. The only regulation Oxitec must follow is that they must inform state officials 72 hours before the mosquitoes are released, and they need to run tests for 10 weeks to make sure no females reach adulthood.

by Kevin Lee