GE mosquitoes created by biotechnology company Oxitec have been released in the U.S., even though the long-term effects could be disastrous.
Oxitec is using Aedes aegypti (A. aegypti) mosquitoes for this real-world experiment, the species known to carry yellow fever, dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika, West Nile and Mayaro, a dengue-like disease.
Oxitec genetically engineered the males to carry a “genetic kill switch,” such that when they mate with wild female mosquitoes, their offspring inherits the lethal gene and cannot survive or reproduce in the wild.
In the U.S., Oxitec is marketing the insects as Oxitec Friendly mosquitoes, trying to put a non-threatening name on a reckless project that could quickly backfire.
It may even be too late, as the GE mosquitoes have already been released in multiple locations.
Genetically engineered (GE) mosquitoes created by biotechnology company Oxitec have been released in the U.S. in Florida and Texas.
In March 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted Oxitec a two-year extension of its experimental use permit, or EUP, which would allow the biotech company to release additional GE mosquitoes in Florida as well as in four counties in California for the first time.
While the EPA extended Oxitec’s EUP both the Florida Department of Agriculture and California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) must approve Oxitec’s testing in order for it to move forward in their states.
Following pushback from legislators, California’s DPR announced Oxitec voluntarily withdrew its research authorization application to test its GE mosquitoes in California.
Locally acquired malaria has been nonexistent in the U.S. for the last 20 years, but five such cases have recently been diagnosed — four in Florida and one in Texas.
In April 2020, the EPA approved an initial EUP, allowing Oxitec to release its GE mosquitoes on 6,240 acres of Monroe County, Florida and 360 acres of Harris County, Texas.
By April 2021, Oxitec had released nearly 5 million A. aegypti mosquitoes in the Florida Keys over a seven-month period, against the wishes of many residents and environmental groups.
In March 2022, the EPA granted Oxitec a two-year extension of its EUP, which would allow the biotech company to release additional GE mosquitoes in Florida as well as in four counties in California for the first time.
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