GMO Mosquito Control News

The rise of the Covid-19 pandemic has put other diseases firmly in the back seat and it can be difficult to remember that these diseases still pose as much risk as ever.
The outbreaks of Zika virus in the United States was, until recently,
the biggest mosquito control news and put the need for preventative measures firmly in the forefront,
and you can use https://sites.google.com/mrmr.biz/georgia/mosquito-control-news to learn more about it.

Fortunately, scientists have not stopped working on finding a way to prevent the spread of Zika virus and other mosquito borne diseases such as dengue fever, yellow fever and chikungunya. In fact, measures are in place to release GMO (genetically modified) mosquitoes into certain high risk areas in the United States this summer.

This project specifically targets the Aedes aegypti mosquito species of which the female is the carrier of the above-mentioned diseases. The mosquitoes to be released are all male and when they mate with female, the offspring do not survive. This should go a long way towards reducing the mosquito population with the hopes of eradicating the problem entirely.

However, there is some controversy related to this mosquito control news. This is not the first time that GMO mosquitoes were set to be released into the wild only to have the experimental use permit denied by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in 2018 due to opposition from locals.

The belief by some naysayers is that more research and environmental impact studies need to be done before taking such a big step to combat the disease carrying bugs. However, releases in Brazil, Panama, Malaysia and the Cayman Islands have proven to be largely successful with minimal environmental impact.

Opposition to the release of the genetically engineered mosquitoes has however become a moot point. The EPA has provided the necessary experimental use permits and the release of the GMO Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes is set to go ahead.