Local authorities have granted the final approval to release more than 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys during the next two years, despite the objections of nearby residents and environmental advocacy groups. The plan had already won approval from the state and federal authorities.
“With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the State of Florida — the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, climate change — the administration has used tax dollars and government resources for a Jurassic Park experiment,” said Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center for Technology Assessment and Center for Food Safety, in a statement released Wednesday.
“Now the Monroe County Mosquito Control District has given the final permission needed. What could possibly go wrong? We don’t know, because EPA unlawfully refused to seriously analyze environmental risks, now without further review of the risks, the experiment can proceed,” she added.
The proposed plan was created to examine whether a genetically modified mosquito is a possible alternative to spraying pesticides to control the Aedes aegypti. It’s a mosquito species that carries several deadly diseases, such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. It was approved by the Environment Protection Agency.
The mosquito, named OX5034, has been modified to produce female offspring that die in the larval stage, well before hatching and growing big enough to bite and spread disease, CNN says. Only the female mosquito bites for blood, which is needed to fully develop her eggs. Males feed only on nectar, making them not a carrier for diseases.
The pilot project also received approval for release into Harris County, Texas, starting next year, according to Oxitec, the US-owned, British-based company that developed the altered species. After years of investigation of the impact the genetically modified mosquitos could have on human and environmental health, the Environmental Protection Agency approved Oxitec’s request.
“This is an exciting development because it represents the ground-breaking work of hundreds of passionate people over more than a decade in multiple countries, all of whom want to protect communities from dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and other vector-borne diseases,” Oxitec CEO Grey Frandsen said in a statement at the time.
However, state and local approval for the Texas release has not been granted, said Sam Bissett, a communication specialist with Harris County Public Health.
“Local health officials confirm that there is no agreement in place or plans to move forward with the project at this time,” Bissett told CNN. “Our focus is on our efforts with the Covid-19 pandemic.”
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