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To combat two viral diseases, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may possibly set loose millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida Keys.
Developed by UK biotech firm Oxitech, the non-biting male of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquito will be released in order to breed with biting females spreading the disease. The modified male will pass a birth defect to their offsprings. As a result, the next generation of mosquitoes will die leading to a decrease in the population.
The company is planning to release the mosquitoes to a neighbourhood with 444 homes in Key Haven this spring.
The experiment, which aims to eliminate viral diseases namely dengue and chikungunya, is being questioned for the possibility of passing modified DNA to humans. Although Oxitec claimed that they will only set-free non-biting males, some critics are concerned by the fact that few stray females from the laboratory may also be included during the release.
Phil Lounibos from Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory explained: “What Oxitec is trying to spin is that it’s highly improbable that there will be negative consequences of this foreign DNA entering someone that’s bitten by an Oxitec mosquito. I’m on their side, in that consequences are highly unlikely. But to say that there’s no genetically modified DNA that might get into a human, that’s kind of a gray matter.”
About 130,000 people have signed the Change.org petition against the experiment.
Meanwhile, Oxitec spokesperson Chris Creese stressed that they have already released 70 million modified mosquitoes in several countries but didn’t receive any report about the negative effects caused by bites or modified DNA on human health.
“The proteins are non-toxic and non-allergenic,” Creese added.
Theresa Eisenman, FDA’s spokesperson, said the agency will be thoroughly reviewing all the necessary information before field tests are conducted.
