November 11, 2016.
Releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild to fight the Zika virus is the new solution chosen by the countries most affected by the epidemic. A rather effective solution.
An effective but contested solution
After Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands, it is Florida that is considering the idea of dispersing genetically modified mosquitoes in nature. Mosquitoes programmed to exterminate female tiger mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus. In details, these mosquitoes mate with female mosquitoes and from this union will be born a female carrier of a disease, who will kill her quickly before she has had time to reproduce in turn.
Experienced in different countries, this method has proven to be very effective, eliminating nearly 90% of tiger mosquitoes, but it is still contested by the associations of environmental defenses which fear the harmful effects of these genetic mutations for the ecosystem.
60 million larvae modified every week
It is the English company Oxite which genetically modifies these mosquitoes. Almost 60 million larvae are modified in this way every week. The city of Piracicaba, 140 km from Sao Paulo, Brazil, plans to release 10 million transgenic mosquitoes per week on the city. It is in this agglomeration that the factory was established.
This is not the first time that we have taken care of male mosquitoes to better reach females. Researchers have inoculated the Wolbachia bacteria into ordinary mosquitoes, in order to reduce their ability to spread Zika. In Florida, residents are divided on the issue but the health agency ” Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board Should make a decision in the coming weeks.
Read also: What are the symptoms of the Zika virus?
