On 5 August, the US Food and Drug Administration cleared the way for a planned trial in a small part of Key West, Florida, by ruling that it would not have any significant impacts.
Advertisement
The proposal is to release GMO mosquitoes, virtually all of them male to mate with non-GMO females in the wild and produce offspring that die quickly and therefore reduce the overall population of the Zika-carrying insects.
Oxitec Chief Executive Hadyn Parry said in a conference call that the vote is non-binding, and the decision about whether to proceed is up to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. The GMO variety passes on genetic traits to their offspring that cause them to die in the wild.
The company already has started trials in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands, where it claims to have reduced the Aedes aegypti population by 90%.
Oxitec received two reviews from the USDA, “Finding of No Significant Impact” and “Final Environmental Assessment”, the final hurdle for Oxitec before it can begin the field test, which will take place in Key Haven in the Florida Keys.
The objective of the trial is to determine the efficacy of Oxitec’s GE mosquitoes for the control of the local population of Aedes aegypti in Key Haven, Monroe County, Florida. USA regulators on July 28, 2016 called for a halt to blood donations in the Miami area as investigators probe four potential non-travel associated cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which can cause birth defects.
Key West resident Mila de Mier opposed the trial and collected almost 169,000 signatures on a Change.org petition from people who agree with her. Although the Florida Keys have seen outbreaks of dengue in the past, the islands now aren’t suffering from any mosquito-borne outbreaks, including Zika, she said.
“We need to be proactive when it comes to controlling the aedes aegypti mosquito”, Doyle said.
“We’re really pleased today”, said Parry.
Only female mosquitoes bite and spread disease.
Advertisement
Ever since the Zika outbreak emerged, people have been buzzing about the possibility of using genetically modified mosquitoes to fight against the bug-borne disease. The bulk of these cases – almost 5,500 – have been diagnosed in Puerto Rico. “I want to say I understand and appreciate both the people’s desire to protect each other and the environment”, he told the paper.
